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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Mar 28, 2017 10:47:43 GMT -5
comedy ; here it is, a quick little thread!
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Post by comedy on Mar 28, 2017 11:27:51 GMT -5
Just a bit of the basics on Claire...
Claire Wilson - 18 - F
Claire is a little above average height, about 5'9 or 5'10. She's average weight and her skin is somewhere between pale and tan. There's a few light freckles sprinkled around her nose and one or two pimples that keep popping up no matter how hard she tries to get rid of them for good. Her hair is a dark brown, almost black, and hangs to a couple inches past her shoulders though she always had it pulled back into a ponytail. Her eyes are bright blue. As with everyone, there's multiple sides to this girl. At school she's quiet, tending to fade into the background rather than stand out. She's a good student. She gets her homework done. She really doesn't hate school, but she's one of the first to leave after the final bell. After school, she struggles to balance work, homework, and practice. She's got quite a few friends from other schools and that shows another side to her. She's actually pretty funny, though she wouldn't be the first of her friends to go out of her comfort zone and do something wild.
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Mar 28, 2017 13:33:46 GMT -5
Matthew Oliver Holt ~ male ~ 18 ◦ charming ◦ outgoing ◦ active ◦ sensitive ◦ selfish ◦ short-sighted ◦ easy to bore ◦ 'come on. admit it. your life would be so boring if I wasn't in it.'
◦ star athlete. plays several team sports, particularly soccer, but enjoys swimming above all else. the rest is just a pass time whereas his swimming is genuinely something he'd want to spend the rest of his life doing. ◦ does well academically. gets consistently good grades and takes a bad result as a personal blow. ◦ knows a lot of people, but keeps his close friends in a tightly knit circle. will talk to anyone but greatly prefers the company of these people and finds it a lot easier to ignore someone not in it. ◦ built like a swimmer as he spends a huge amount of his free time in the water. at 6'1" he's tall, and the lean muscle he's built up, especially in his upper torso - speaks to his active life style. ◦ blonde, green eyed. takes great pride in his appearance and thus spends a lot of time on making sure everything from his hair to his clothes to his skin is always well taken care of to ensure he's presentable. ◦ generally wears plain v-necks and jeans, paired with one of a collection of jackets on a cold day. less is more, he says, and judging by how vain he is, it's hard to believe he keeps things so simple because he's too lazy to do anything more.
also, I realised it might not be entirely obvious, but he goes by Oliver even if his first name, technically, is Matthew. just thought I should clarify just in case.
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Post by comedy on Mar 28, 2017 13:47:08 GMT -5
Cool. I'm about to leave school but I'll get my starter up when I get home. Any length preferences? I generally do a couple paragraphs depending on my parter
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Mar 28, 2017 13:54:59 GMT -5
I'm usually pretty comfortable around 3-4 paragraphs, usually on the shorter end of the scale in slice-of-life rps, but I mirror posts so most anything works!
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Post by comedy on Mar 28, 2017 15:16:32 GMT -5
"What?" Claire Wilson practically shouted, astounded by her parents' news. "Seriously? With Oliver?" she asked. They had started off with the good news. A vacation. Claire desperately needed a vacation from her hectic life. It had still been fine when they told her the vacation would be with the Holts. She had been on plenty vacations with them before and just did her best to avoid the boy. But sending her away with him? That was a new low. "Why can't he just go by himself? He's a big boy! Or Christopher can go with him! He practically idolizes Oliver!" she suggested. Her younger brother looked up at the mention of his name. A few seconds later he looked back at his phone, amused by the argument.
"Claire Michelle!" Ellen Wilson replied, her voice stern. Claire hesitated at the usage of her middle name. Her mom was not happy. "He's a nice boy. I don't understand your problem with him. You two are heading out beforehand to get the place set up and bond."
"What about Sarge?" She asked. Claire wouldn't have a problem with one of her friends looking after a horse, but she was trying an excuse at this point.
"Claire!" her dad warned. Claire rarely disrespected her parents, but she rolled her eyes and stormed out of the room. She heard Chris say something to her parents, but ignored it.
So, the next day, Claire was slamming the back door of her Jeep shut after packing it with her bags. She had argued and pleaded and even fallen to her knees and begged, but her parents wouldn't back down. With the address plugged into her GPS, she cranked up the radio, and pulled out of the driveway. As she drove, she let the country music drown any worries out of her head. She could just avoid Oliver, like usual, and enjoy the vacation until their parents joined them.
After the three hour drive, she was glad to see that she had beat Oliver to the house they rented out. She pulled open the door, looking at the cheesy decorations adorning the living room. Taking advantage of being the first one there, Claire found the biggest of the rooms, after figuring out which ones the parents would take, and claimed it as her own, throwing her bag down on the bed. She might as well have fun as she waited for Oliver to come ruin the party. She plugged her phone into a speaker and turned the music up loud, singing along as she went throughout the house, opening windows and making it look livable.
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Post by comedy on Mar 28, 2017 15:22:01 GMT -5
Also - should it be a beach house or cabin in the mountains? I wasn't sure so I didn't specify
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Mar 28, 2017 16:01:15 GMT -5
( I guess that depends. either works. if this takes place during the summer, a beach house might be more interesting, but if you have another preference that works too! )
"Matthew!" Sage's voice alerted him to her approach even before she swung around the door frame. Only she ever used his first name, and he didn't know why. It wasn't as if it bothered him, he couldn't care less, so why his little sister insisted on ignoring the fact that everybody else only ever called him Oliver was beyond him. "I heard the beast and her sidekick are sending you away," she said, sounding amused. "With Claire, of all people."
Oliver groaned. "Don't remind me," he begged. A lot of things bored him, but he could think of few things that did the job better than Claire Wilson. His parents claimed that they'd been friends as young kids but he wasn't sure he believed them. How could he when just the thought of spending a week with her sent shivers up his spine - and not the good kind, either. "They want me gone by nine tomorrow morning. I don't know how I'll manage to get everything done."
"Never fear, brother dearest. That's exactly why I'm here," Sage replied in a sing-song voice, finally stepping aside to reveal several suitcases and a pad of paper on top of them all. Oliver knew exactly what that was. The dreaded pack-list. Like mother like daughter it seemed, for Sage grabbed it with inappropriate glee and clapped her hands. "Alright, I know you, so I've made sure to make this list like I'd make my own, and not Dad's. You'll need all six of the t-shirts I've made space for and I've made sure to leave extra room for all your hair products."
And so it was that, nine am sharp the next morning, Oliver piled his packing into his Volvo and left on a three-hour car trip to reach a destination he'd rather never get to. Almost continuously, he considered taking a turn and driving somewhere entirely different, but he remembered his mother's demand ('send me a picture of your room with the suitcases in it when you get there') and knew that it was an impossibility. The beast had considered her moves well.
When he pulled up outside the house, it took him exactly two seconds to realise that Claire had beaten him here and another to realise that she would have taken the best room already. At least there was no-one here forcing him to interact with her.
The moment he stepped out of the car he saw his mistake. She would force him to interact with her. Music was spilling out of the house, and her voice was somewhere in the middle of it. Well then. At least this wasn't boring, though he could see it turning tiring very quickly. He hauled his bags out of his trunk and walked inside, letting the slam of the door signal his arrival but not giving any official greeting. Instead, he focused on locating the best room that also hadn't been claimed yet.
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Post by comedy on Mar 28, 2017 22:14:56 GMT -5
(Lake house?)
Hearing the slam of a car door, Claire was quick to turn off her music. The last thing she needed was Oliver criticizing her music choices. Well, she had the best bedroom, so she had the last laugh. At least, she hoped she did. She couldn't imagine herself laughing until the rest of her family arrived. At least she got along with her brother. She closed the door to her bedroom, wishing she could lock it. Oh well, the bags piled on the bed and the clothes strewn about as a result of her just beginning to unpack would have to serve as a suitable warning.
Her phone vibrated on the nightstand and Claire picked it up, seeing her friend's name illuminating the dark screen. She denied the call and set the phone back, reminding herself to call Kenzie back later when she had a chance. Right now, she was going to continue unpacking and do her best to ignore Oliver. She started with her shirts, folding them neatly and placing them one by one in the drawer. She tried to stay focused on the task at hand, but got distracted by the stony silence in the house. She stuffed what she hadn't been able to pack back into her bag and tossed it onto her bed. She shut the door behind her and paused when she saw Oliver.
"I forgot some stuff so I'm going to the store. Don't go into my room," she warned him, not waiting for a response. She climbed into her Jeep and drove around Oliver's car, looking for the nearest store in her GPS. Found one. As she got further and further from the house, she rolled down her windows and began to relax. Even if she had to deal with Oliver, she'd make sure to enjoy herself. After all, it was her vacation too.
The store was about half an hour drive from the house. Why was it necessary to drive so far just to escape Oliver? She's pulled into a parking space and grabbed what she needed from the shelves. Almonds (she liked almonds). A phone charger (she forgot hers at home). A new pair of sunglasses (hers were smudged and bent). Socks (one can never have too many socks). Sandals (again, she forgot hers at home). After checking out, she hopped into the front seat of her car and paused. She would have to go back and see Oliver now. Maybe even interact with him, even if it was just establishing some rules so they could stay out of each others' way and live happily ever after. Until their parents arrived, at least.
Then they'd be forced to interact. Claire had hoped that now that high school was over (I'm thinking summer after senior year) she wouldn't have to see him anymore. She should've known she wouldn't be that lucky. Their parents weren't giving up that easy. Was it not enough that Tanner liked Oliver? Why did Claire have to like him too? She sighed before putting the car into drive and pulling out of the parking lot. She drove back to the house slowly, wanting to prolong her last moments of solitude.
When she pulled into the driveway, she parked her car on the side and grabbed her bags from the store before locking it. She went inside, in search of Oliver, and greeted him with a cold "We need to talk." Hopefully he would get the message that she didn't want to talk to him, but needed to. She tossed her bag of newly bought items right outside her bedroom door before she really began to look for Oliver.
(Sorry I had planned on getting this posted before work but I forgot homework was a thing...)
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Mar 29, 2017 3:51:40 GMT -5
( lake house works ^^ )
The music ceased. Then, just as Oliver pulled out his phone to send his other the picture she'd demanded he send her, he heard a warning to stay out of Claire's room. He looked up, raised an eyebrow and nodded, before returning to the task at hand. Texting his mother. She got the picture she'd asked for, followed by a 'happy now, mother?'. He got a reply less than a minute later, no doubt Cathrine Holt had been waiting by her phone for her son to announce his arrival, a string of emojis that were far from inappropriate in this context and, finally, a thumbs up. He only sighed.
He wouldn't unpack, not properly. That would come as time went on. He did shove his bags into the small closet, but that was about as far as his efforts went. He knew exactly what he should do while he had the house to himself - leave it. He wasn't going to let Claire's presence ruin his summer.
So, feeling oddly determined, he grabbed a towel and headed down to the lake. The lake was just about the best thing about this place. He hadn't even been here for more than ten minutes, but already he knew. He wouldn't swim, not now, but he could sit out on the docks and sulk there instead of in his own bed.
He lay the towel out and in a matter of moments, he'd planted himself on it. He lay back and threw an arm over his face. Not to protect his eyes as one might assume, no, it was a melodramatic movement followed by a heavy sigh. That's how he spent his hour, watching the water. Sometimes he'd scroll through yet another social media, but the connection was bad so he gave up soon enough. Still, he had to admit it was nice.
Then, of course, came the slam of a car door. It hadn't lasted as long as he'd hoped. Hoping to keep this spot to himself, he picked up his towel. slung it over a shoulder and then he headed back towards the house. "Talk?" he echoed, only barely catching what she'd said. "What about?"
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Post by comedy on Mar 29, 2017 10:13:43 GMT -5
Claire watched Oliver walk up slowly from the lake. "We need to talk," she repeated, even though he had already responded. "I don't wanna be here and it's obvious that you don't wanna be here either. Nobody is here to force us to interact, so I thought it would be a good idea for us to establish a couple ground rules and then leave each other alone for the rest of the week," Claire began. She had been practicing her speech on the way back. She had come up with a couple of good ideas, at least she thought they were good, for rules. She didn't want to be a party pooper by laying down rules, but she thought this would make the week more enjoyable for both of them.
"First, you don't come into my room and I don't go into yours. There's two bathrooms so that shouldn't be an issue. Second, you don't touch my car and I don't yours. I don't see why that would be an issue, but you never know with people. Those boundaries good enough for you? Other than that, we just stay out of each other's way," Claire finished, her words sounding harsh even to her.
She honestly didn't know what her problem with Oliver was. As far as she could remember, he hadn't done anything to her. Maybe it was association. She didn't like the kind of kids he was friends with. A few were fine, but most were arrogant jerks who thought they were above everyone else because they could throw a ball. Wow, so impressive, she thought bitterly. Maybe it was just how they were so utterly different. Claire had never had a clear cut reason for disliking Oliver, but that's how it had always been and she didn't like to change things. At least, that's how it had always been in her mind.
According to her parents, she and Oliver had been good friends as kids. They had been going to play dates since they were infants. However, Claire had no recollection of that and absolutely refused to believe that she had been friends with him. Even if it was when they were innocent, naive little kids that didn't know any better.
Once she got through this vacation, she realized, that would be the end of seeing Oliver forever (she hoped). He was a good student as well, but she just didn't picture him going to the same college as her. And even if he did, it was a large campus. They'd most likely be able to easily avoid each other, like Claire had been attempting to do her entire life.
She had never been alone with Oliver this long, and was slightly curious to see if they could survive this week together. It will be easier when everyone else is here, she reminded herself. She could then escape and hang out on her own while she sent Tanner to distract Oliver and follow him around like a lost puppy. She had a good relationship with her brother, but just couldn't understand how he idolized the older boy like that. She could barely stand to be in the same as him, yet her brother would probably give anything to spend a week with Oliver.
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Mar 29, 2017 12:09:53 GMT -5
"Sheesh," Oliver said, feigning hurt. "That's harsh." And it was. He wondered how long it would take for the benefits of avoiding her, and by extension inevitable boredom, to no longer outweigh the drawbacks, a lack of conversation. He wasn't entirely sure how long it would take for him to crave some kind of social contact, he only hoped he could last a week when their families would arrive and he'd have both his sister and Claire's brother to entertain him. He'd never tried to actively avoid everyone he had the ability to talk to, even if that made for a grand total of one person, so he had nothing to go off of.
He sighed again, then nodded. "Fine. That seems fair. But what about meals? Cooking or ordering out twice seems like too much. What's the plan there?" He asked mostly because eating take-out twice a day for a week would get boring quickly and he didn't even know if anyone would deliver this far out. But he also didn't want to cook for the both of them if she wasn't going to do the same. In that case, he'd just cook for one and let her carry her own weight.
He knew that this week would be the most boring to date. On the one hand, he had the option to stick to himself and never interact with anyone. But he'd gotten tired of solitude quickly before, and he wasn't sure how different this would be. On the other hand, he had the option to actually spend time with Claire as his mother apparently wanted. There were just two issues with that plan. She didn't want to spend time with her; he didn't want to spend time with her. It was a difficult situation to be in, and one he hated his parents for forcing him into.
"What are you planning on doing to waste your time, anyway?" he asked. The only way for her to avoid her, after all, was if he knew where she was. "There's not exactly a lot to do out here."
( this is probably how long my posts will be from now on, approximately anyway. this is the comfort-zone I usually fall into no matter what I'm doing so I'll probably stick to it. )
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Post by comedy on Mar 29, 2017 14:38:44 GMT -5
Oliver had posed a couple of problems. She was fine with cooking for herself. In fact, she enjoyed cooking. She didn't want to do all the cooking for the entire week for both of them though. Plus, her parents only sent her with a little food, meaning she'd have to go to the store again. She definitely wasn't paying for both of them to eat. Well, Oliver was a big boy. If he didn't want to cook, then he could figure out how to feed himself for the next week. "I have no problem cooking. I'm not cooking for both of us all week though. So I figure we can take turns. Like I'll cook one day and you'll cook the next. Or we can trade off meals," she suggested. Wow, this might be the longest conversation she's had with Oliver in the past few years - at least the longest conversation where they've been working together.
"As for what I'm doing, I'm not giving you an hour by hour schedule so you can avoid me. I don't even know when I'll be doing what. I will be out by the lake a lot, either fishing or in a boat. Other than that I'll probably be out in the woods," she said. She had discovered an old shed with boats; paddle boats, kayaks, canoes. She wasn't trying to be difficult this week, she just wanted to avoid him. "Where are you going to be?" Hey, if he knew where she was going to be, she wanted to know where he was going to be.
"Plus, there's plenty to do if you know how," Claire pointed out. Her family used to own a lake house like this that they'd go up to nearly every weekend. As far as Claire could remember, they hadn't come with Oliver's family. Baseball, kickball, making fires, tennis, smores, riding dirt bikes.... the list went on and on. Until she remembered it was just her and Oliver. She used to do all of those activities with a large group of cousins and Tanner. It wouldn't be fun if her only choices were to do it alone or do it with a guy that she didn't want to spend more time with than necessary. "Never mind," she finished, sticking with her earlier words about where she'd be.
Claire began to wish, more than ever, that she was home. Yeah, she and Oliver lived only a few minutes away from each other, but it was easier to avoid one another when they were in their own houses with plenty of people around and places to go and things to do. Out here, miles from civilization (minus one or two neighbors that kept in their own business), with no one but each other, it would be much harder.
(Cool. I tend to mirror my partner. I just don't like it when people post like 3 sentences in a post. Gives me nothing to work with)
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Mar 29, 2017 17:57:43 GMT -5
( yeah, me too. I've always found those rps more difficult to respond to. )
Oliver nodded slowly. That sounded like a compromise he could live with. "Alright, I can do that. I stopped for lunch on the way down here but I can take dinner tonight." That gave him an excuse to leave the house today, too. While he was there getting something to cook, he might stay a while. He had plenty of time to waste, after all, he might as well do some of it away from the house.
He was pleasantly surprised at how well the conversation was going. It had been a long time since they'd spoken this long, let alone civilly. Despite the fact that the whole point of the discussion was to not have to talk much for the rest of the week, it was quite impressive really. So, of course, he had to go and ruin it.
"Mhmm," he said, sounding unimpressed. "That's certainly a long list." He knew that there were things he could do, technically, but they were all things best done with someone else. Alas, he had no-one else. He sighed. "Doesn't matter. I'll probably be spending most of my time down by the water, the best thing about this place is that I can still swim. Go on a hike sometime, maybe. We'll see."
He had to wonder what his mother had been thinking. She knew how easily he got bored and just how boring he found solitude, not to mention how badly he wanted to avoid spending time with Claire. That was probably the point, he thought. Still, what did she expect him to do with all this time? There was only so much you could do, especially when there were just two of you.
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Post by comedy on Mar 29, 2017 18:28:21 GMT -5
(Or if I post something like this and get a paragraph long reply with no punctuation. It's drives me crazy)
"And I'll make breakfast tomorrow," Claire agreed, already mentally making a list of what she'd need from the store. She should probably go out to the store today so she didn't have to do that tomorrow morning. She'd go either before or after Oliver, not wanting to spend her precious time away from the house with him.
"Just trying to make your life here a little better. Not doing that again," Claire mumbled, making a face at him. It was almost funny in a way. Her face looked like a kindergartner after the class bully had just stolen her toy. It didn't have quite the same affect on an 18 year old girl.
"Well, I'm heading down to the lake to fish before it gets dark. So, do whatever it is you like to do. You might just wanna sit on your bed and do nothing since you seem to think there's nothing to do here." With that, Claire turned and headed to her car. She opened up the back and grabbed her fishing pole and tackle box before kicking off her shoes and walking, barefoot, down to the lake. She didn't give Oliver another glance before she sat down on the dock and cast out her line.
Although part of Claire was relieved that she didn't have to face Oliver for a bit, the rest of her was a bit upset that she had ended the first civilized discussion they've had in a while. Usually, if they talked at all, it would just be a mumble or a quick 'hi' if their parents were around.
Now, she didn't have to worry about. Any interaction that the two of them had was 100% up to them. It was actually nice not having the pressure to be nice to Oliver. As much as she hated it, maybe there was logic behind her parents' decision to send her here alone with them. She put on the new sunglasses she bought, adjusted her baseball cap, and waited for a bite.
As always, she went a while without a bite before a small tug on the line pulled her out of her daydream. She reeled it in, only to find that the fish had taken her bait and left before she could bring it in. She wrapped another warm on the hook before casting her line again and enjoying the warm sun beating down on her bare shoulders, although she knew she'd regret the sunburn she'd have after this. She shouldn't have forgotten sunscreen when she was at the store.
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Mar 30, 2017 3:24:23 GMT -5
( oh yeah, that's pretty infuriating, honestly. I don't mind shorter posts most of the time as long as I know that's what it'll be and don't spend more time than I have to on writing. )
"Funny, that was exactly my plan." It was, technically. He also intended to go to the shop sooner rather than later, but he anticipated a day of sulking either in his room or in his car or down by the water. He was rather good at sulking, he thought; he'd spent whole days in a toddler-like state when his parents had made a decision he didn't like. This was just the same, he realised, only it was broken up by short snippets of conversation.
He stayed where he was for a few moments, then quickly made his way into his room. Having not actually been in the water, his towel was still dry so he simply threw it into his closet without much thought. Then he stayed there, just as Claire had predicted. He hated being still like this, he'd spent all day either sitting in a car or lying down somewhere, but for once he felt no tug to go on a run or for a swim. It threw him off.
Eventually, Oliver made his way to his car, GPS already ready to point him towards the nearest shop. The small town it lay in was almost empty of people, he suspected most of them had left on account of it being summer, but the odd family walked by and there were a few people his own age, people that likely didn't have to money to do much outside of town with their own summer. He'd hoped for a bigger crowd, but he appreciated what he got. Seven people were better than none.
The actual shopping passed without event. It was quick work, he was only getting enough to cook for a few days and not the entire week. He stuck around for a while, making his way through the other shops just to make the time go by, but not for very long. No more than two hours after he'd left he was back, carrying bags of groceries. Even putting what he'd gotten into cupboards and the fridge didn't take much time. A shame, he thought, he'd have hoped it would pass more that just a few minutes.
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Post by comedy on Mar 30, 2017 10:55:08 GMT -5
(Any ideas for forcing them to interact? I was thinking maybe meal times or if they both end up at the lake together? Boredom? Any other ideas?)
After catching a couple fish and threw them back into the lake, Claire set her pole down next to her and laid back on the wood. She closed her eyes, her legs hanging off the end of the dock, and stayed in that position for only a few minutes. It was beginning to get dark, she realized. Really, just the smallest sign of sunset was appearing. As she stood up and began walking, Claire touched her free hand to her face. It was only the first day and she had already managed to get sunburned. She should've expected this. Reaching the house, Claire put her fishing equipment back into her car and grabbed her GPS, setting it to take her to the store again. She saw that Oliver's car was back. Good, she wouldn't run into him at the store.
It was her second trip to the store that day and she felt a bit self conscious walking in, especially with her face and shoulders bright red from the sunburn. She walked down the aisles slowly, prolonging her time away from Oliver and the house of doom. Of course it was filled with doom if she was forced to interact with him. Claire filled her cart with ingredients, enough to take her shift for the next day or two. After that, she grabbed a bottle of high SPF sunscreen and some aloe. She checked out, wishing her parents had given her their credit card. If they were forcing her to stay here, why couldn't they at least pay for her food? She loaded her car up with the few bags she had filled with necessities from the store.
When she returned, she quickly put the food away in the kitchen and put the other items in her bedroom. She applied a thick layer of aloe over her burned skin. To make it worse, she hadn't been sunburned under her sunglasses. Right in the middle of her pink face we're two white circles around her eyes. Embarrassing. At least she was only around Oliver and nobody else she knew. She knew a couple of her friends would never let her live this down.
After this, she returned to the kitchen and cut up one of the apples she had bought at the store. She relaxed on the couch with her snack, noticing that it had gotten a bit darker since she left for the store an hour or so again. Once she had finished, she threw the paper plate away. Well, they didn't have to do dishes. That was one benefit, at least. Imagine having to make an entire chore schedule with Oliver. That'd be even worse than just a cooking schedule and trying to avoid each other. She had complained about doing chores at home when she was so busy with school and homework and work and practice, leaving her no time to sleep or hang out with her friends. She decided, after this and having to live with Oliver, she'd never complain again. The last hinge she needed was her parents forcing her to interact with him as a punishment. That would be horrible.
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Mar 30, 2017 14:04:14 GMT -5
( maybe they could have a conversation over dinner and then do something more active the next day (run into each other at the lake, one of them asks the other to do something bc they're bored, etc)? maybe? )
In the end, Oliver did go down to the lake to swim. It wasn't until he heard the sounds of a car starting that he changed into swimwear and went down to the docks. He liked to swim alone, uninterrupted. Swimming with others was fun and all and definitely not something he minded, but there was something magical about the bliss that came with being the only one in the water. It was his own little moment of peace. This was his opportunity to do that. So, he walked down to the docks, threw his towel into a heap and dove.
He didn't bother trying to enjoy it. That came later. Instead he swam ruthlessly, arms thrown forcefully over his head, legs kicking furiously. He was taking out all the energy and boredom he'd pent up over the course of the day. This was no graceful backstroke or even a carefully orchestrated breaststroke. It was a butterfly. Some argued that was the most beautiful, elegant stroke. Oliver, who usually crawled, begged to differ. There was something different about it, something passionate and almost violent. On days like these, he loved it.
He'd known when he first started swimming that the speed he was going at wasn't sustainable. It was a sprint, not a marathon. He couldn't have spent more than fifteen minutes in the water, getting gradually slower once he passed the five-minute mark, when he slowed to a leisurely pace. After that, he didn't stick around for long. Another few laps and he was out. Just as well, because the water was cold. Not freezing, it was summer after all, but it was no heated pool. He wouldn't complain, but when he climbed back onto the dock, he could feel the chill run all the way into his bones.
He walked straight to the house, drying himself off as he went. Claire's car wasn't back yet, thank God, so he changed in his own time, actually leaving the towel out to dry this time before finally moving on to doing what he'd promised he would - cook. By this point, she'd already returned, but he didn't greet her. IHe went straight to the stove and started cooking - stirfry, by the smell of things - humming to himself as he worked. It didn't take long, it was an easy meal after all. "Food's done. Come get some when you want it, I'll leave it on the stove," he called, though he didn't wait to plate some up for himself or from hopping onto the nearest counter to eat it.
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Post by comedy on Mar 30, 2017 15:19:42 GMT -5
(Sounds good. Maybe one day it can storm so they're both confined to the house?)
Claire had disappeared into her room while Oliver was cooking. It would be awkward sitting in there silently where they could see each other. Instead, she picked up her phone and tried calling Kenzie back. After a few attempts, she gave up. Maybe tomorrow she could try outside. After all, it was getting gradually darker and she wanted to stay in the first night. There were plenty more nights that she could have a fire and make s'mores or go on a night hike. Maybe she could grill out over a fire one night when it was her turn to make dinner. Brats, hot dogs, and burgers always tasted ten times better when cooked over a fire.
She could smell Oliver's cooking coming into her room and she couldn't deny that it smelled good. At the sound of his call, she left, dishing up a plate from the pan he had left. She went to go sit on the couch and eat. That would be frowned upon at her house, but guess what? Her parents weren't here. She could do what she wanted. She took a bite and was surprised to see that it tasted good. She had been a little unsure about his cooking, but it really wasn't half bad. Of course, she wouldn't admit that to him. She would never admit it to him.
"So how was your day?" Claire asked. She still didn't like Oliver. She didn't want to talk to him. She just knew she'd go insane not talking to anyone. Maybe tomorrow she could make the drive to town and find some local kids to talk to, but until then Oliver would have to do. If only she had been able to talk to Kenzie, she wouldn't have to talk to Oliver.
"I went fishing most of the day, if you couldn't tell," she said, trying to make a joke at the expense of her sunburned skin. Man, this was killing her, but she forced a smile onto her face. Even if she couldn't stand the boy she was forced to live with, she could at least try to make the week less miserable for the both of them. Claire set her fork down, using all her self control to stay there.
They had a civil conversation earlier, so they should be able to have another one. Claire had initiated the earlier one and she was initiating this one. It just amazed her. A week ago, she couldn't imagine eating dinner and having a conversation with Oliver. Something's could change pretty quickly. She still disliked him, but she gave herself a mental pat on the back for at least making an effort. Even one day of solitude was too much. She didn't know how she'd make it through the rest of the week if she couldn't stay on civil terms with Oliver.
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Mar 30, 2017 15:48:27 GMT -5
( ooo, that's a good idea. I like that. )
"Oh, I could tell," Oliver said, gesturing to his eyes. There was nothing malicious in his tone, though it wasn't quite teasing, either. It was somewhere in-between. He took another bite of his food, before continuing on to answer her actual question. "Uneventful, I guess. I swam for a bit while you were gone. Turns out lakes are not as warm as pools. Shocking, I know."
He didn't mind talking to her as much as he'd expected. Alright, so the conversation had barely even started, a lot could still change. But she was cracking jokes, something he'd never thought she'd do, much less with him. He hoped to keep it that way. He didn't want to spend much time with her because that would get boring, but he figured that short, meaningless conversations over a meal or polite greetings could get him through the week. Just one day spent alone had him losing his mind. He wasn't sure what a week would feel like, but he was pretty sure he wouldn't like it. This would be enough and then their families would arrive and he could go back to his usual, chatty self.
A short silence passed before he asked, "So, did you catch anything exciting?" It was a bad question, he knew that. He didn't even know anything about fish. But the conversation had to go somewhere, and he was pretty sure this was going to get them further than discussing swimming which, really, wasn't that great a conversation topic. There wasn't much to say about it. Even within a group of people who all swam competitively, you only had three options. Complain about your stroke, complain about someone else's stroke or complain about the competition. Neither worked in this case.
( this was a shorter post, sorry about that. it's only like 11 pm but I'm already exhausted for some reason. )
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Post by comedy on Mar 30, 2017 15:55:46 GMT -5
(It's no problem I probably won't have one up till late tonight because I have to leave for work in a couple minutes. It's only 4 here so yeah I'm hoping to be one up after work, but I may not get one until tomorrow during study hall just warning you. I got a lot to do)
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Mar 30, 2017 15:56:48 GMT -5
( no worries ^^ it'll take as long as it needs to! )
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Post by comedy on Mar 30, 2017 16:05:30 GMT -5
(Cool. I'm sure you've noticed but I'm much more of a quality over quantity type person)
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Mar 30, 2017 16:25:54 GMT -5
( yeah, me too. there are a few exceptions but generally speaking, that's almost always the case. )
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Post by comedy on Mar 30, 2017 22:39:06 GMT -5
(Eh there's exceptions for practically everything)
"Exciting? Nah. A couple of bluegills. I threw them back," she said, taking another bite. Well, that certainly was a short conversation, unless he continued it. That's all she needed though. Just a little human interaction was enough for her. She assumed that would be good for Oliver as well and they'd be cool for the rest of the night. After all, why talk more than necessary?
Wow, she really needed to go into town and make some friends. She finished up with her meal and threw her plate and fork away. "How about whoever doesn't cook has to do dishes after that meal?" She suggested, eyeing up the pan that he had used for cooking. When she had thought they wouldn't have to do dishes, she had totally forgotten about the fact that they couldn't exactly cook with paper plates unless they wanted the lake house to burn down. She'd be fine with that, if it meant no more time with Oliver, but she didn't think her parents would feel the same way. It wasn't even their house.
There was more Claire could say. There was always more for her to say. Claire could carry on the most mundane conversations and eventually bring the topic back to something interesting. It was one of her skills. Not one she used in public. It would annoy most people. Only her closest friends knew about this special skill. Because of this, she decided not to waste it on Oliver. Why? Many reasons. Number one was that she literally just didn't want to talk to him. If they didn't like each other and no one was there to force them to interact, then why interact more than necessary. Number two was that it would most likely annoy Oliver and make him less likely to want to talk to her than he already was. If that was even possible.
Claire watched him, wishing she could read minds. Oh, life would be so much easier if she just knew what everyone was thinking. Especially a creature that was as complex and novel to her as Oliver. She never understood him or the other jock types at her school. In general, they just seemed to find odd things funny. She also noticed that, some guys more than others, tended to make sure everyone knew they were there. Whether it meant shouting or laughing or shoving a friend into the lockers or hitting on some girl with a boyfriend and absolutely zero interest in him. She hadn't seen Oliver in the halls at school a ton lately and wondered if he acted the same way as the other kids like him.
That was her big problem with him. She assumed he was like those guys and it annoyed her. They annoyed her, making her angrily annoyed for some reason. She couldn't see herself spending more time with any of them than necessary. In fact, Oliver was the only one of them that she had spoken to for a prolonged conversation, except for her Spanish project with Spencer Rockman junior year. They had been bordering between a B and C because he had refused to let her have any say in the project. Claire shook her head, pulling herself out of her thoughts and wiping some invisible dirt off of her shoes to give her something to do rather than just look at Oliver. Cause that was kinda weird.
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Post by comedy on Mar 31, 2017 10:21:43 GMT -5
(I may have another plot that I'll do with someone else and if I do my responses may get a little slower. That's not a problem right?)
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Apr 1, 2017 9:01:48 GMT -5
( no, of course not! go ahead! )
Oliver didn't try to continue the conversation any further. He didn't see the point. He'd gotten his fill of listening, it was all so dull. He couldn't care less about fishing, to be quite frank, and he had a suspicion that even if he changed the subject she'd find a way to twist it back into something just as boring. He couldn't imagine she had anything interesting to talk about. Whenever he'd see her at school, she was either alone or with a small group of people. It was a stark contrast to him and the group of people that surrounded him at all times and he could only take to mean two things; either she didn't interest people or people didn't interest her.
It was a shame, really, that he didn't want to listen to her drone on about fishing any longer because what he hadn't gotten his fill of was talking. He didn't need to talk constantly, but he'd always been the kind of person who could - and wanted to - have long conversations in which he could ramble and laugh. That was what justified a conversation, he thought, laughter and enjoyment. He didn't think it likely that he'd get either just by forcing this conversation to continue.
"I see how it is," he said, hopping down from the counter to toss both his plate and fork into the rubbish. "Don't want to wash up, huh?" Despite his words, he grabbed the pan and, after depositing what was left in it into the first and only container he found, placed it into the sink and started the water running. "I'll do the dishes, don't worry. There's a reason I didn't make something more complicated." He had, in fact, made his decision based on the fact that he didn't want to wash more than a single pan. Why should he when one was all he'd need?
With that said, he turned his back to her and got to work, signalling the definite end to the conversation. He didn't expect her to stick around anyway. So, he resumed his humming as he worked, something that took no more than two minutes given the lack of dishes to do.
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Post by comedy on Apr 2, 2017 12:41:45 GMT -5
After Oliver turned away, ending their conversation for good, Claire stood up and walked into the room that she had claimed that morning. She changed quickly into pajamas and left only to brush her teeth in the bathroom next door and grab a bottle of water from the kitchen. She ignored Oliver once again before locking herself in her room for the night. After a few minutes of checking various social media apps, she shut her phone off and placed it on the night stand next to her bed.
The next part was the hardest. Claire generally didn't sleep great. She struggled to fall asleep and then tossed and turned all night. It was even harder in a place she was unfamiliar with, such as the lake house. To make it even worse, she wasn't even with anyone familiar or that she liked. Yes, Oliver was somewhat familiar. They had known each other their entire lives, but she didn't actually know him. When it came to her friends or family, she actually knew them. She knew what they liked and didn't like. She knew what they found funny and what offended them. She knew what every small facial expression meant and how to cheer them up.
You see, Claire liked to observe. Just the smallest odd behavior or change in a smile could alert her that something was wrong. It drove her crazy that Oliver was a mystery to her. Her friends liked to joke about how Claire could read minds. That metaphor made Oliver a locked diary. As hard as she tried, she just didn't know him well enough to figure him out. And that made her uncomfortable.
He wasn't a total mystery though. She could make some inferences based on what she knew. And it's not like his facial expressions were always difficult to read. During their earlier conversation, she knew her words about fishing bored him. She figured most of the topics she enjoyed would bore him. Did he want to hear about her last lesson with Sarge? Doubtful. Did he want to hear about Kenzie? Even more doubtful. Claire may think her best friend was interesting, but Oliver most likely would not. Claire liked to talk about horses and photography and her friends and camping and outdoorsy stuff. Based on what she had seen, Oliver would find those topics about as interesting as watching white paint dry.
After a few fitful minutes of thinking, Claire buried her face in a pillow. She eventually fell asleep.
In the morning, Claire woke to some light raindrops on her window. Great. It would be all muddy outside if she wanted to do something. Sitting up in bed, Claire grabbed her fully charged phone and opened up the radar app. It took the app a few minutes to pinpoint her location, but when it did, she was surprised to see a large blob of dark green and yellow/orange with pockets of crimson coming towards them. Could this get any worse?
Normally a storm would make the girl jump for joy. She loved storms (to a certain extent. Severe storms caused her fear). A storm up here, however, would barricade her inside the house with a certain boy. It was not good weather to be outside in. A clap of thunder drew her attention to he window. The rain had steadily increased and was not pounding against her window. Great. Could this get any worse.
Knowing she was in for a rough day, Claire dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie before exiting the room and brushing her hair and teeth. She made her way into the living room, grabbing blindly for the light switch. Aha! She flipped it up, only to find that it made no difference. Not only were they stuck inside, but they were stuck inside with no power. Apparently it could get worse. Claire used the flashlight on her phone to dig around, glad that the owners had left a supply of batteries, flashlights, and candles. Claire lined up the candles, lighting one at a time, before placing them strategically around the room. She then sat on the couch, wishing this week would just end.
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Post by 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯 on Apr 2, 2017 14:02:49 GMT -5
Oliver wasted what was left of his evening doing very little at all. He explored the living area for a while, finding several board games (most of them from the eighties, from the look of things) and a library that was much bigger than he'd expected from a house this size. There was also a TV standing in the corner, but he felt no urge to watch TV or read, so he just flopped down on the couch and scrolled through his phone again, relishing in the limited contact he could make with the outside world this way.
He didn't stay up for long, though. Even sleeping would be less boring than just sitting around again. As soon as he heard Claire's door close for what he assumed would be the last time, he stood up and headed to his room. He showered - ever since he started swimming night showers were the norm - changed and headed to bed. He had no trouble falling asleep, the boy could sleep anywhere, so it wasn't long before he was drifting off.
Unfortunately, he was also a light sleeper. At the first roll of thunder, he stirred, but when a second followed it not three minutes later, there was no way around it. He was awake. He rolled over, pressing his face into the pillow to muffle a frustrated groan. He didn't even get to sleep in.
He stayed there for a few minutes but even his phone seemed to be against some rest because it went off three times in quick succession. All of them were alerts sent by his weather app letting him know about the storm, as if he hadn't noticed, and to stay out of the rain. With a sigh he rose and dressed into sweats and one of his usual shirts before leaving to walk into the hallway.
It was dark, but a soft light was coming from the living room so he headed towards it, fumbling his way through rooms he didn't quite know his way around yet. He blinked at the candles, confused. "You're sitting in the dark surrounded by candles," he said, reaching for the lightswitch. He flipped it repeatedly, then let out a breathy 'oh'. Of course the power was out. Why wouldn't it be? "Great. If you need me I'll be in a corner somewhere, screaming."
Despite his words, however, he walked further into the room and sat down in one of the armchairs. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, but said nothing more. He just sat there, eyes closed and eyebrows as high as they'd go.
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Post by comedy on Apr 2, 2017 14:58:42 GMT -5
Claire had been only half aware of her surroundings as she scrolled through Instagram, listening to the thunder as it shook the house. She hadn't even realized Oliver was awake until he spoke. "Yes, I'm just that weird," she replied, voice dripping with sarcasm, as he reached for the light switch. When he saw that the power was out, she set a 'told you so' look flying in his direction.
She sat for a few moments before breaking the silence by speaking to Oliver. "I'm gonna run out and make sure everything's put away and stuff," she said. She didn't expect a reply, but spoke anyway. "If I don't make it back, just know that I haven't liked this anymore than you." They weren't the most friendly parting words, but she doubted Oliver would say anything nicer if he was in her position. With that, she flipped her hood up and opened the heavy wooden door, allowing a little more light to enter the room.
She grabbed the screen door to open and was surprised when the wind pulled it out of her hands. She shut the wooden door behind her and was immediately assaulted by the sharp rain pelting her face. She was glad to find that she had closed her car windows, something she forgot occasionally in the summer. Everything was put away, but she did find a pair of shoes laying in a muddy puddle. They must've fallen out of her car when she was unpacking. She grabbed the shoes, doing her best to shield her face from the rain.
Once she had the shoes, she turned and dashed for the door. The screen door was still pinned against the side of the house, so she opened the wood door. She grabbed the handle of the screen door and shit it behind her as she entered the house and pushed the door shut. She leaned against the door, closing her eyes. She was dripping from head to toe, leaving a small puddle of water beneath her feet.
"That was horrible," she said, opening her eyes. She knew it would be a bad idea to run out into the blinding rain, but she didn't want anything to be ruined if she could stop it. She tossed her soaking shoes onto the mat before leaving a trail of wetness behind her. She grabbed some dry clothes from her room and reached he bathroom. Once she had the door locked behind her, she changed into the dry clothes. She was freezing. After that, she tossed the soaking clothes into the bathtub, pulled her wet hair back into a ponytail, and went back into the living room.
Using the light from her flashlight, she dug through the house and managed to find a pile of firewood in the back storage room. She brought it back into the living room and made a fire in the fireplace. After making sure the fire would survive, she took a seat back on the couch she had been on since she woke up.
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