Sleeping In//:Jaek

[Twilit]

Jaek groaned, rolling over-and onto the floor with a loud thud. "Ow," he muttered, his voice half muffled by the blankets. Kicking his way out, he finally lay on the floor, and sighed. He really did not feel like getting up, although now it was a little too late. He pulled himself up off the floor, grabbing the remote for his speaker system off of his nightstand. He hit the power button, flicked through a few songs, then hit play. The music powered through the house, and he headed for the bathroom. He took a quick shower, towel drying his hair. He slid on his favorite long-sleeve shirt, one from American Eagle, along with his favorite jeans. Making sure the scar on his forehead was invisible to anyone and everyone, he finally headed downstairs. He checked the clock over the stove-it read 11:47. He shrugged, seeming a little surprised, but not too much. It had become custom for him to sleep in every day, now that he didn't have school and all. He could still hear his favorite music playing from the speaker system as he grabbed a box of Poptarts and headed out to sit on the front steps. As he ate, he wondered where he would go today.

[nickyy]

America galloped through the woods, her hooves following an invisible trail. Her reins hung loose around her neck, so she was free to go where ever she wished. The mare slowed a little then went right. Lexi smiled and just held on, happy that she was happy. She had gotten up around nine this morning and instead of going to get breakfast, she had decided to go to the stables and take America for a ride. She didnt have classes till later in the day since she was a senior. So she had gotten up, took a shower, straightened her hair, and gotten dressed. Knowing she was going to be riding trails, she wasnt going to dress that nice. She chose some faded destroyed jeans and a white polo shirt. It was full swing into autumn now so she put a hoodie on top of that. Her favorite black one. She put on some converses and headed downstairs, eager to get to the stables. As she went down the stairs, a sharp pain over her hipbone caught her attention. Her jeans were rubbing a little right where she had just gotten a tattoo. It was a ying-yang about the size of her fist. She had gotten it done about a week ago and it was doing well. It didnt really hurt to bad, a lot like sunburn. But now that her pants were rubbing it, it felt a little worse than that.

Pulling her pants up a little, Lexi descended the final steps and went out into the parking lot. She found her white corvette and jumped inside. Within ten minutes, she was at the stable and parking her car. She put the key under the mat and went into the barn, heading straight for America's stall. The mare appeared happy to see her so Lexi got her out and saddled her up. They warmed up for a few minutes then headed for a trail. Keeping thing familiar, they went down the same one they always did. But not to far along, the trail split into three directions. They had been left and right, but never straight. So today, feeling adventurous, they went straight. And now they were galloping through the woods, having a great time. The mare continued on ahead, going towards a break in the trees. Lexi ducked a few branches and smiled as a gust of wind stirred up her hair. When she opened her eyes she gasped a little, realizing they were in the middle of someones property. "America!" Lexi hissed, hoping they weren't going to get in trouble. She looked around, observing the house in front of them. Her gaze traveling towards the steps, she saw a man. Her face got hot with embarrassment of being caught. "Great..." Lexi said, knowing now she would have to go apologize. She nudged the mare in the sides and America went walking towards the houses steps. In her mind, Lexi was forming a smooth apology, to get her way out of any trespassing charges.

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[Twilit]

Jaek's eyes flickered over everything, as if he was taking an inventory of the forest. When he heard a noise not to far off in the woods, he trained his eyes there, watching, waiting. A horse appeared, with a rider. Even from here he could tell she was embarrassed. His face stayed the same blank, expressionless look he always had as his eyes drifted away. "Just make sure the horse doesn't rip up the lawn too bad," he called, opening his third package of Poptarts. The small silver wrappers were underneath the box on the step next to him. He bit into it easily, his elbows on his knees, and his hands hanging down, the Poptart clenched firmly in one hand. Staring off into the distance, he watched the girl and the horse out of the corner of his eye, appearing for all the world like this always happened to him, and that he was used to it. "Want one?" he offered suddenly and randomly, shaking the box of Poptarts. "I don't want to eat them all myself."

[nickyy]

As she was making her way over to him to apologize, she heard him say. "Just make sure the horse doesn't rip up the lawn too bad". She blinked in surprise for a moment, then swiftly looked behind her to make sure the grass was still intact. It was fine; America had never been clumsy. She turned back around as she heard him say something. She looked down at the box in his hand. "Sure" she said with a smile. Just then her stomach gave a growl, reminding her she hadnt ate breakfast. But then again, she never did so maybe it was cry of happiness. It was getting fed for the first time in 24 hours. Because food was a luxury she didnt have time for. And most of it just didnt appeal to her. Lexi got off of the horse and walked over to the steps. She sat down on the bottom one and picked up the box. She took out a silver package, placed it on her lap and but the box back beside him. "Thanks" she said, glancing up at him.

Before eating, she decided her appearance probably needed attending to. Her hair was probably a mess because of the wind and the occasional branch. Quickly, she ran her fingers through her hair, untangling it as best she could. Tangles were one of the many disadvantages to having long hair. Once she felt it looked decent, she let it hang down her back and she opened the poptart. She broke one in half and took a bite out of it, not sure what to expect. She had only had poptarts once before and they hadnt looked like these. As she ate, she watched America who was just standing there looking content. Lexi clicked her tongue and the horse came walking over. She broke off a piece of poptart and put it in her hand. She held it out towards America and for a moment, she just sniffed it. Then she took it and started chewing. Lexi smiled and took a bite of poptart. Once she chewed and swallowed she turned her upper half towards the man and said. "Im Alexis" she said, smiling a little. She didnt put out her hand because handshakes weren't part of her greeting process. Smiling wasnt her favorite thing to do either but generally it made people more comfortable and she didnt like scaring people when they could still sue her.

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[Twilit]

Jaek didn't smile, didn't show any emotion at all. Then again, he almost rarely did. He blinked once as the girl-no, not the girl, Alexis-introduced herself. He looked at her, a small flicker of recognition in his eyes. "Jaek, spelled J-A-E-K," he said simply. He had always felt the need to spell his name, as he happened to like the odd spelling. He smoothed his hair again instinctively. It was one of his habits, something to make sure his scar was still invisible. That was the number one reason he wore long-sleeved shirts-that way no one could see how he'd been hurt. Another thought process flickered behind his blank eyes, and he looked at Alexis-actually, physically looked at her, almost to a degree of criticism. "How'd you get here? I mean, besides the fact that you rode the horse. There aren't any trails back there that I know of," he asked, his voice holding just a touch of confusion. It was one of the first times he had actually truly seen anyone, much less talked to anyone, in probably over a year.

[nickyy]

Lexi nodded, noting to remember the odd spelling of his name. She always thought it was cool if someones name was spelled differently then it normally is. As silence drifted back between them, she took a few more bites of the poptart, occasionally give America a piece. As she ate, she strived to keep her mind blank. Because when let it go free, she often got carried away on pointless things. Like the fact that he didnt smile. 'No, no, just stop it' she told herself, not even wanting to think about what she wasnt thinking about. She heard his intake of breath as he was about to say something. She turned towards him, listening to his question. "Oh, well I let America have free rein. She just went where she wanted to. So I guess she just made her own trail..." Lexi said, glancing over at the horse with a smile. She looked back over to Jaek and met his eyes for the first time. They surprised her; what a contrast from his face. They looked kind and warm. Not to judge, but he seemed to act cold like he was trying to shut everyone out. 'There I go again' she thought, cutting off the thought. Lexi pulled her eyes away from his and looked at America who was now starting to doze off, her body leaning to the right slightly as it always did.

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[Twilit]

"Oh. You trust your horse that much?" he asked, his voice now slightly incredulous. He couldn't imagine trusting anyone that much, much less an animal who was much larger than a human. Eyeing the horse surreptitiously, he watched it list slightly to the right, apparently tired. A rare smile flashed across his face for just a moment before disappearing again, replaced by the same blank, indifferent expression. He pulled up another poptarts package, staring at the shiny wrapper, flipping it back and forth absently. He stared past it, memories super-imposed over the trees. Blinking, he fought against the memories until the trees were the only things he saw-Jaek did not want to relive that once again. It already haunted all of his dreams. Instead he focused on the closer surroundings-Lexi, America, and the poptarts.

[nickyy]

"Yeah, I guess I do..." Lexi said, looking at the dozing mare. She turned her gaze back to Jaek. "I use to be really scared of horses. But I was...challenged to face my fear. I did, and now I love them. She is a really great horse. Plus, animals are a lot easier to trust than humans. They dont judge you, they wont stab you in the back..." she said, her words towards the end sounding very hypothetical. Not. It was true, she'd been judged and she been stabbed in the back. By numerous people. Before her emotions got the better of her, she banished the thought. "So, your new here right?" she asked, sounding casual. Not quite staring, she studied his face, searching for anything that would spark a memory of a previous encounter. He looked slightly familiar but surely there were other people with the same eyes, the same shaped face, the same jaw. She ignored the familiarity and pulled at her sleeves, bringing them to the tips of her fingers. No longer hungry, she crumpled up the silver wrapper and put it beside her. She noticed he had yet another poptart in his hands 'How can he eat that much?' she asked, feeling full after finishing most of her one package.

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[Twilit]

Jaek nodded slowly, listening to her talk. He agreed with what she said. People were hard to trust, but for some odd reason, he thought animals were just as hard to trust-at least, for him. "Just moved in a few weeks ago. Decided it was time for a change, you know?" he said, not bothering to explain himself any better then that. His eyes flickered to her face, given her another one of what he considered his 'true' glances. His eyes danced across her long hair, lingering for a moment on her bright eyes. Then he glanced back down at his poptarts, finally opening them. He broke it in half, taking a large bite. As he chewed, he stared off into the forest again-it always seemed to intrigue him, the fact that it could hide so many secrets yet still be so plain. With a sigh, he realized that it described him perfectly, and he just shook his head softly, clearing the thought from his mind-at least, until later.

[nickyy]

Lexi nodded, understand his short explanation. "I came here a few weeks ago too. But not because I wanted to. Our town was forced to evacuate, so most of us were sent here. There was a big fire..." she said, her mind flashing back to the day. She herself had never seen the fire, just the billowing smoke as it built. Fire not being one her favorite things, she had grabbed only what she needed and left. Some people stayed till the very last minute, trying to get everything out. Pulling herself back to the present, she looked at him openly, wondering how he would react. Some people got nervous when other looked at them, some liked it, there were multiple reactions. She wanted to see what his was. As he ate, she continued observing him, her eyes occasionally going back up to his face to watch his expression. After a few minutes, she turned back towards the woods. She hadn't been staring in a creepy kind of way, more a stare of interest. Something must have awoken America because now her eyes were open and she seemed to be staring at something. Lexi followed her eyes and found that they were trained on Jaek. So America liked copying her. No...wait. The mares eyes weren't on the guy, but the food in his hands. Lexi laughed at America, knowing poptarts were going to be her special treat from now on. Her laughter faded but a smile remained. Turning towards Jaek slightly "How old are you?", she asked. She knew the question was personal but it had been lingering in her mind for a while and it needed to be asked. Man or boy. Adult or child.

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[Twilit]

Jaek could feel Lexi staring at him, but he said nothing. Truthfully, he could have cared less. People had been staring at him for as long as he had been alive, all of them looking at him differently. Lexi's stare was one of open curiosity, one he had seen on many people's faces-it bothered him the least. The pitying stares he got from others hurt him the most, but he still didn't let it show. He saw America staring at his food, and he finished it quickly; he was very unwilling to give up his poptarts. "I'm eighteen, for now," he said. He didn't ask why she had asked in the first place, as he could-once again-care less what anyone thought of him.