bryce / weighty ghost

[RORY AMELIA HUNTER.]

[style=width:350px; margin-top: 250px; background-color: #66969c; font-family: raleway; font-size: 25px; text-transform: lowercase; padding: 5px; position: relative; color: cccccc;]just leave my soul alone

[/style]

Being at the college library on the weekend was certainly not something Rory Hunter was doing by choice. But unfortunately for her, one of her elective classes refused to pass her latest assignment unless Rory handed in this final assignment. Although she was strongly tempted to tell her lecturer to shove it, Rory knew she needed the pass after flunking one too many classes in both her freshman and sophomore years. And if there was one thing she hated the idea of more that spending her weekend doing schoolwork, it was spending another entire year trying to pass her classes. So, in the long term, one Saturday morning worth of work didn't seem like such a sacrifice.

In fact, her confinement indoors was almost over. There was a section she'd have to finish off at home. So shutting down her laptop, and throwing the mess she'd spread out over the table back into her bag, Rory grabbed the books she'd need to take with her and made her way to the librarian's desk so she could issue them for her. But, despite the library seeming deserted before Rory had begun to pack up, a queue had now formed and Rory was forced to wait her turn. Impatient as ever, Rory quickly pulled out her cellphone, flicking a text off to her older sister.

Caught up in what quickly became a text conversation, Rory didn't notice the book trolley headed straight towards her. Like Rory, the librarian pushing it wasn't paying any attention to where she was going, and hadn't even realized she was about to collide with the people waiting in line. Rory only noticed just in time leaping backwards out of the way, only to crash into whoever was behind her, her slight figure sending them flying into the bookshelf behind them. Her balance put off by the shock of someone standing almost directly behind her, it wasn't surprising that she toppled over,

In the space of a second, nearly all the books had fallen to the floor, the shelves set askew by Rory's attempt to stay upright. Vaguely aware that everybody's attention was directed at the mess they'd made, and the trolley lady didn't even notice that she'd been the cause of it, Rory straightened up, dusted herself off, and surveyed the mess around them. In her fight to stay standing, she'd dropped her own books, and now, knowing Rory's luck, they were probably buried under the books now spread all over the floor. "Shit..." she murmured, running a hand through her hair, and then crouching down to search for the text books she needed, paying not the slightest bit of attention to the person she'd bumped into.

(( this kind of sucks, but they will get better <3 ))

[BRYCE CONRAD AKINS.]

[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style, background-color:#202020] [STYLE=opacity:.8; background-color:#202020; padding:6px; width:200px] [/style]

[atrb=style, width:252px;][atrb=valign, top] come one and all, AND SEE THE BROKEN MAN it would be bryce's luck that one of his room mates decided it was better to bribe him rather than properly negotiate with him, and instead of getting to go to bed that morning, he'd been conned into heading back to campus to deal with jackson's late books. in return, jackson said he'd pay for bryce's pack of smokes, which is where jackson was a lot smarter than bryce ever wanted him to be. he couldn't refuse a pack of smokes, especially when he was broke until next friday. so after signing off of xbox live, throwing on a shirt, and grabbing his skateboard, he pulled jackson's bag onto his shoulders and he was off- in a rather annoyed mood, mind you. bryce had stopped off at the store to grab his pack of smokes before he got to campus, considering he didn't want to go almost the entire trip without having one. pocketing the change, already knowing his room mate would want every cent back, he exited the store and pulled out a smoke. lighting it, he pocketed everything but the cigarette and set off again on his skate board with a bit of a clearer head. by the time he'd reached the campus, however, a lot of the students from high school and the university were hanging around. that was bad news for him, considering the library was one of the more popular buildings. saturdays were usually thinned out a bit more, but it still wasn't the best place for someone who wasn't that interested in crowds. picking his skate board up, he carried it underneath his arm up the stairs and into the library, having already marked his name enough with skate boarding troubles from many different teachers over the span of the various buildings. walking up towards the main desk, he snagged the last spot in line between a girl about his age and the starting shelf of their new books. he'd been just about to balance his skate board between his shoes and shrug the backpack off to grab out the books when the girl in front of him jumped backwards. he had no time to prepare himself, and with him in an already unbalanced position, maintaining an upright position was impossible. he went stumbling backwards into the self, and before he knew it, his weight had tipped it over, crashing it into another shelf unit of books. in domino-like fashion, in total, three shelves were carried down, not counting the one that bryce had been forced to use as a hard crash pad. after things had settled, bryce slowly started to pull himself up, taking his time so he didn't put his back in any more strain. groaning, he slowly straightened to a stand, at first noticing the knocked over book shelves. it was then that he realized everyone was staring at the scene before them, and all he could really do was sheepishly scratch at the back of his neck. slowly, he glanced around, his eyes finding the girl who'd bumped into him. he'd been about to lean down and see if she was okay, and needed help collecting her books, when the woman who'd been pushing the trolley scoffed obnoxiously. "this is a library! how dare the both of you, causing a disturbance of such great lengths." the woman's eyes narrowed in on bryce's face, and he nearly flinched back. "the both of you are students, i trust? good. you'll both be cleaning this mess up," she started, approaching the two of them so that she didn't have to speak in such a loud voice, though the venom still seemed to be dripping through every word. "and after you're done, i'll see you in mr. camel's office." bryce wasn't exactly scared of the dean's name being said in a sentence, and the worst of the matter was that a few book shelves had been knocked over; no one had gotten hurt, and judging from the few giggles and chuckles that were going around from onlookers, he knew that people weren't traumatized from a few books and shelves collapsing. so there was nothing to be worried about if there was a meeting with the dean. if anything, it wasn't even his fault as to why he was standing in the middle of a mess. unable to think of anything to say, he simply swallowed and nodded his head slightly. people slowly went back to what they were doing, and the woman returned to her trolley, finding a different route now that her attention had finally been grabbed. slinking the bag off his shoulders, bryce dropped it to the floor and set his skate board with it. awkwardly glancing around, trying to make sure no one was still gawking at the scene, he crouched down like he'd intended to do before and he grabbed a book that was settled on the top of the pile. it had nothing to do with the books that had been on the shelf that had fallen, so he figured it was one of her own. "here," he offered in a settle tone, avoiding eye contact at first. "uhm.. are you okay?" as soon as the words came out of his mouth, he wanted to smack himself in the face. of course she was okay, that was a stupid question. at the most, maybe a little pissed because of power-mcgee over there, but he doubted she was actually hurt over this. [atrb=style, background-color: 202020;] RORY . 917 . OUTFIT i hope you have something to work withh! and i'm exciteddddd (:

[/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[RORY AMELIA HUNTER.]

[style=width:350px; margin-top: 250px; background-color: #66969c; font-family: raleway; font-size: 25px; text-transform: lowercase; padding: 5px; position: relative; color: cccccc;]just leave my soul alone

[/style]

Embarrassing situations were perhaps one of the few things Rory wasn't accustomed to handling. So now, having so much attention directed at her now, while she was too shocked to snap at them to piss off or to mind their own business, meant she was a little unsure of what to do with herself. So, ignoring the muttering and giggles from her peers and whoever else happened to be using the library, Rory got stuck into the search for her text books.

It took a few moments for the trolley lady to make her way over to them, navigating the floor carefully now that books were practically spread everywhere. Rory only half listened to her tirade , noticing it was directed mostly at the person she'd knocked over and who Rory now saw was a guy about her age, possibly older. She heard the lady mention Mr. Camel, the dean, and opened her mouth to complain. Some smart comment about how the lady should watch where she was pushing the trolley was at her lips but before she had the chance to say anything, the lady walked off, and the people around them, now bored of the scene Rory had inadvertently created, went back to their business.

More than a little annoyed that she had to tidy everything up, Rory let out a low groan. Going to the dean's office was no big deal; in fact, Rory was now on a first name basis with Emmanuel Camel after being sent to his office on several occasions for various reasons. Mostly to do with her lack of effort in particular classes, but there was also the odd time she was called in to discuss her conduct, which always proved to be an interesting conversation topic with Emmanuel.

Quickly returning to the searching for her books, Rory still planned to get out of there as soon as she could. Freedom had been so close, and she'd be outside now if it weren't for bitch-pants and the klutz who was standing behind her. She stole another glance at him, surprised to find that he had put his bag down and seemed to actually be following the orders he'd been given. Rolling her eyes, Rory returned her focus back to her searching. Now having found two out of the three books she had been going to check out, she put them aside whilst she resumed searching for her third and final textbook.

But a voice interrupted her, and it took her a moment to figure out it was her supposed partner in crime. "Oh..." It took Rory a moment to realize he was holding one of her books, and she reached out to take it from his hand. "Thanks, I guess." Rory's tone was anything but grateful as she turned to place it on top of the books of hers she'd already collected. Scanning the floor in case she'd missed one, Rory's attention was diverted again when the guy asked her if she was okay.

"I'm fine, perfect. Fucking fantastic." She responded, perhaps crueler and more sarcastic than she should of been. He was just being kind, after all. Heaving a sigh, accompanied by yet another eyeroll, Rory decided she might as well give him a proper answer. "Yeah, I'm okay. What about you? Pretty sure you fell harder than I did." She wasn't exactly expecting a response, nor did Rory really care what his response might be, but she'd returned the favor, and hopefully it'd be enough.

Slowly, Rory straightened up, grabbing her books and bag, before dusting herself off. If she wanted to get out of the library, now was as good as ever. She hesitated for a moment, juggling between warning the guy she was leaving or just walking off, before settling for the former. It was only fair, right? And she had pushed him, after all, even if it was accidental. "You're not really going to clean this up, are you?" she asked disbelievingly, raising an eyebrow as she shouldered her bag. "She didn't even get our names. And it was her fault, after all, right?" Rory didn't know what he'd decide to do, but she just hoped he knew that she wasn't likely to stay if he chose to stay behind.

(( idk why, but the name mr camel made me laugh more than it should have. >> ))

[BRYCE CONRAD AKINS.]

[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style, background-color:#202020] [STYLE=opacity:.8; background-color:#202020; padding:6px; width:200px] [/style]

[atrb=style, width:252px;][atrb=valign, top] come one and all, AND SEE THE BROKEN MAN now, bryce had never been one to look for apologies, or anything along those lines, but he wasn't in the dark about casual mannerisms. he carried them out every day, even when he didn't want to- not because he felt like he had to be nice to everyone, but because it was just the respectful thing to do. but he hadn't been expecting the cold shoulder method from the girl who was in this situation with him. after all, it wasn't like he'd done anything wrong, other than step into line. if anything, he should've been demanding some sort of apology, at least for the pain, but he didn't. and his only reaction to her response was silence, unsure as to what to say to something like that. girls were always confusing; back home, here.. it didn't matter where he went. it was impossible to read a girl's mind, and as soon as you think you've got it all worked out in your head, there's this entire secret room that you haven't explored yet, and it muddles up everything else. he could already tell that she was one of those girls, the ones that'd rather let you run in circles around them while they held the secret as to how to get inside to themselves. but at the same time, it intrigued him. usually girls would be almost in tears from something like this, if not because they were in trouble, but from the embarrassment. she'd done a better job than him at concealing the fact that he'd been more than uncomfortable with an entire library staring at him. at her sarcastic response, he slowly exhaled and rubbed the back of his neck. once he'd been doing that long enough for it to seem more like a nervous tick instead, he withdrew his hand and started to clean up the mess of books at their feet. the least he could do was organize them out of the way, so that after the bookshelves were stood back up, it'd be easier to start ordering them how they were supposed to go. which.. ever way that was. he wasn't expecting her to re-answer his question, so when she did, he glanced up from what he was doing and blinked at her. slowly, he went to shrug his shoulders, but he stopped halfway through, the pain in his spine still a little bit too fresh to want to work the skin more. "m'okay," he responded in a low tone, finding it a little hard to find his vocal box around her. "backpack took most of it." of course, he didn't mention that he had three large books in that bag, but he figured she didn't even really care, so it'd be wasted breath anyway. bryce's eyes travelled with her movement for a moment as she straightened back up to a standing position, but he remained crouched down for the moment, clearing off the floor still. when he heard her bag, however, there was a little bit of a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. she was going to leave, wasn't she? holding back a sigh underneath his breath, feeling his luck only growing worse that morning, he slowly pushed himself up to stand as well. "she doesn't need my name," he started, his accent coming out a bit more thickly now than it had before. "all she's gotta do is tell carmel 'that dipshit with the skateboard', and he'll have a good idea." stuffing his hands into his pockets, he bit the inside of his lip for a moment. "i've used up 'bout.. seven of my lives. m'not gettin' kicked out 'cause of an old hag who needs glasses." leaning back down, he started to collect the books again, starting a brand new pile beside the one he'd already finished. about halfway through the stack, he glanced back up at her, narrowing his eyes a bit. for a moment, a spark of an idea crept up into his stoner-ied brain, and he tried to offer her a compromising smile. "you smoke?" he asked suddenly, tilting his head as he straightened to gain eye level with her again. "how 'bout we go outside, 'ave a fag, and then if you still wanna leave, i'll cover for ya. i'll even give you the cig." [atrb=style, background-color: 202020;] RORY . 725 . OUTFIT yooooou're just silly (; and Emmanuel's a hilarious name. that poor fellooooow.

[/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[RORY AMELIA HUNTER.]

[style=width:350px; margin-top: 250px; background-color: #66969c; font-family: raleway; font-size: 25px; text-transform: lowercase; padding: 5px; position: relative; color: cccccc;]just leave my soul alone

[/style]

"Lucky for you." After being nice, Rory's tone was back to it's usual sarcasm. She was glad, however, that the guy didn't elaborate on his injuries, which, since breaking he had broken her fall as well as his own, he had no doubt received. If there was one thing Rory couldn't stand, it was complaining from any one other than herself.

Of all things, Rory was not expecting a negative response to her suggestion. Again, she wrote him off as some sap before listening to his explanation. Her ears picked up on his accent, but she made no indication that she had done so. Still, not quite understanding why he couldn't just leave, Rory shrugged her shoulders. To each his own, she supposed. "Suit yourself," she muttered, her attention distracted by one of the books on the floor. With the toe of her shoe, she nudged another book out of the way so she could read the title, something about sports education. Wrinkling her nose, she pushed it gently back into the pile.

She wasn't sure what made her continue to stand there, watching this blonde guy tidy up the books, but Rory felt rooted to the spot, even after he'd told her he wasn't going to be leaving any time soon. When he looked up and spoke to her again, Rory was distracted from her staring, returning his smile with a slight arching of her eyebrow. "Yeah, I do..." she answered, her tone a little suspicious considering he was practically asking her from out of the blue. Rory listened to his suggestion, running a hand through her hair after he'd finished speaking, thinking it through. What did she have to lose? He was even offering her the cigarette. "Alright, then." she finally responded with a shrug, leaning over to grab her bag and stalking out of the library.

On her way past the desk, aware of the librarian's eyes on them, Rory decided she might as well offer some explanation of why they were leaving, despite the fact the aisle they managed to mess up was still in total disarray. "We'll be back," she offered, her tone completely disinterested. "Just going for a smoke." Obviously caught off guard by Rory's insolent tone, the librarian didn't have a chance to protest before Rory continue to walk towards the exit. Once she was outside, she spied a bench not too far away, getting direct sunlight. Figuring the guy was following behind somewhere, she sat down, rustling around in her bag for her sunglasses.

Once she'd found them and put them on, she looked to the guy. Oddly enough, now that she saw him outside he looked a little familiar, but Rory couldn't place him. No doubt she'd just seen him around campus, and if he got in trouble as much as he had told her, perhaps they had run into each other once or twice on their way to see Mr. Camel. "Your accent... British, right?" Rory asked. Usually she wasn't one to make small talk, but it seemed almost... necessary. She also found she was a little curious, too, for reasons unknown. Instead of questioning it, however, Rory plowed forward, as she normally did. "What's your name?"

(( sorry this took me a little while. hope it's okay~~ ))

[BRYCE CONRAD AKINS.]

[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style, background-color:#202020] [STYLE=opacity:.8; background-color:#202020; padding:6px; width:200px] [/style]

[atrb=style, width:252px;][atrb=valign, top] come one and all, AND SEE THE BROKEN MAN above all things, talking to girls wasn't bryce's usual passtime. sure, there was the occasional girl that he could joke around and flirt with in one of his classes, but he'd never been thrown into a situation like this with another person of the opposite sex. and the fact that she was as beautiful as she was slightly made him more of a baffling idiot, rather than his usual goofy, carefree self. naturally, he was scared of coming off like that, and he tried his best to keep himself from appearing as though he really was as slow as she was probably thinking, but it was nearly impossible. a girl like her, from the looks and her attitude anyway, was used to guys who could control themselves in smooth antics, not guys who considered finding all of the masks in zelda's majora's mask game a sport. bryce wouldn't have even been able to catch a football to save his life. when she finally agreed to join him for a cigarette, bryce nearly let his relieved smile wear too easily on his lips. he'd actually thought that she'd be like most of the other girls here, and tell him to go screw himself. but, a lot of that might've been because he was technically bribing her for her company with a cigarette. they weren't that cheap anymore, so bryce knew that if some girl offered one to him for five minutes of talking, he'd manage and try his luck with the smoke. grabbing a bag strap, he pulled it over he hoisted it over his right shoulder before grabbing hold of his skateboard by the trunks. lifting it to tuck underneath his arm, he followed rory out, stopping for the moment that it took to tell the librarian where they were going. he didn't bother making eye contact before they left, just the feel of the older woman's eyes drilling into the back of his head was enough of a reminder not to wander too far. old women were definitely something bryce found himself more and more scared of with each passing day that he lived here. deciding against skating over to the bench she had picked, bryce followed along a couple feet behind her, getting ready to ditch the backpack as soon as he could. letting it slide down his arm, he rested it against the bench and took a seat next to her, keeping himself as close to the other side as he could. it'd be just his luck to accidentally brush up against her, and have her think he's some weirdo-pervert who purposely knocks himself a little harder into bookshelves to try and cop a feel. "u-uh, yah." he barely managed to answer to her question about his accent, trying his best to shrug it off like he wasn't used to that question at all. a lot of people, apparently, weren't all that used to hearing a birtish accent up close and personal in carmel, so bryce had received questions about it since he'd arrived about four years ago. fishing out his smokes from his pocket, bryce pulled out two smokes from the still freshly opened pack. offering one to her, he put the pack away and exchanged it for his zippo. flipping the lid with ease, having mastered that motion from how many times he'd done it before, he flicked his thumb over the barrel and lit the end of his cigarette. offering the still lit zippo to her, just in case she didn't have her own either with her or at the ready, he tried his best not to seem too interested with his eyes as he took the girl in beside him. "bryce. 'lotta people call me bry, though," he answered modestly, not really caring much for the nickname, but it was hard to reject something you've grown accustomed to. "and, uh, you? what's your name? i fink i've seen you 'round, but.." shrugging, he took his first real exhale from the smoke, his eyes focusing now on her sunglasses, trying to see those pretty eyes through the tint. "so what 'bout you, anyway? you just came here for college, or were you born 'ere, too?" he asked with curiosity, growing a little bit more comfortable in his own skin. shifting, he let his left arm hang off the back of the bench, reclining more against the back in order to fully relax. his mind slightly wandered back over to the mess they still had to deal with inside the library and he outwardly groaned, obviously displeased. "you probably should've let 'er 'it you, y'know? might've been able to sue." [atrb=style, background-color: 202020;] RORY . 779 . OUTFIT sorry this is so shitty! D:

[/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[RORY AMELIA HUNTER.]

[style=width:350px; margin-top: 250px; background-color: #66969c; font-family: raleway; font-size: 25px; text-transform: lowercase; padding: 5px; position: relative; color: cccccc;]just leave my soul alone

[/style]

Rory nodded slowly, glad to know her guessing about his accent was spot on. It wasn't hard to tell, of course, but it sounded odd to her ears, after being used to Californian accents her entire life. She took the cigarette as it was offered to her, twirling it around in her fingers as she waited for the guy to light his. When the lighter was held out towards her, she put the smoke between her lips, holding her hair back as she leaned into it, putting the cigarette into the flame and inhaling deeply once it was lit. "Thanks." she said unusually gratefully, once she'd exhaled the smoke she'd only just realized she had been craving.

"Bryce..." Rory repeated slowly, committing his name to memory. It didn't ring any bells, but she was certain she had seen him around campus. She was still musing it over, taking a drag on her cigarette, when he asked her name. Exhalong the toxic smoke slowly, Rory took her time in answering, running yet another hand through her hair. "Rory." she answered shortly, not because she was being rude, but because she'd never really had many nicknames given to her. There was always Ror, but there wasn't much point in shortening such a short name. Or at least, Rory thought so. "Yeah, same. Do you take any film classes?" It was the only connection Rory could think of where she'd actually be able to recognize him from, if only because she liked to know who she could borrow notes off or ask about assignments.

Rory figured that they were done speaking, but Bryce continued to ask questions. Taking another quick drag of her cigarette, she once again took her time to answer him. There was no rush after all. "No, I'm from Southern California. Santa Monica?" Phrasing it as a question, Rory wondered if he'd heard of it. It wasn't too far away from Los Angeles, on the coast, but she was amazed by how little people from Carmel about the other end of the state. "Anyway, I'm here for college. Obviously." She was about to put her cigarette back to her lips, when Bryce let out a groan. Turning to him, she lowered her sunglasses with her free hand, giving him a questioning look. Only when he continued to speak, suggesting that she should have let the librarian hit her, did Rory's face break into a half-hearted smile, and she let out a short laugh. "Yeah, maybe." she agreed, shaking her head slowly. "Too bad I don't want to get bruised up just for a court case, and a few hundred dollars." She scoffed offhandly, knowing it was more trouble than it was worth. Even so, it did sound very appealing, if only to get back at the old hag.

Content to sit in silence for a few minutes, Rory quickly finished off the cigarette. It had been a while since she'd had a smoke, and she was generally only a social smoker, but she had cravings, just like everybody else. Dropping the stub to the ground, she crushed it underfoot, before heaving a sigh. She waited for Bryce to finish his cancer stick, making no secret of the fact she was watching him. She didn't know if he would find it unnerving, nor did she care, but Rory found him interesting and even if staring was rude, she figured her sunglasses would probably leave Bryce guessing as to whether she was staring at him, or merely past him. Once she was sure her companion was finished smoking, Rory got to her feet, slinging her bag over her shoulder once more. "Back to work, then?" she suggested, deciding against abandoning Bryce with an entire aisle of books to clean up. She felt almost obligated to remain. "I'm going to stay and help you... But are you sure you wouldn't rather just leave it be? You can't be the only guy with a skateboard around here."

(( pshhh, it was fine <3 ))

[BRYCE CONRAD AKINS.]

[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style, background-color:#202020] [STYLE=opacity:.8; background-color:#202020; padding:6px; width:200px] [/style]

[atrb=style, width:252px;][atrb=valign, top] come one and all, AND SEE THE BROKEN MAN the name rory made his eyes squint a bit in thought, mentally going over the name. it wasn't a common name, especially not in a small town like this, so he knew that if he'd met someone or at least heart of someone with that name, he'd remember. but he didn't want to say that he had no idea who she was. for some reason, he thought that'd make it seem as though he didn't care for meeting her, or something equally stupid along those lines. but, at the same time, saying that he knew of her would seem stupid, considering he didn't. "i can honestly say that you're the first person i've met 'ere with the name rory. is that short for somefhin'? aurora?" he asked, actually genuinely curious. it wasn't until after the question had slipped out that he wanted to smack himself in the head, however, for how silly it might've sounded. especially since not a lot of people liked their full length names most of the time. "film studies? nah. i tried that a year ago, and ended up gettin' kicked out 'cause i could never stay awake." he responded with a soft chuckle. "just art an' video games, really." bryce's eyebrows raised once she mentioned santa monica, indicating that he knew the place she was speaking of. he'd never been there, but he'd been in america long enough to learn most of the bigger cities names. at her laugh, bryce couldn't keep his smile from forming on his lips, enjoying the sound. she seemed much like a girl who'd pass up the chance to go to a party with a guy like him, one of the ones who'd only be friends with you to gain something, but for some reason he was almost blinded by her beauty. her short answers, or tight-lipped expressions hadn't detoured him from trying to get to know her more, and there was a very simple reason as to why he'd let himself ignore those signs of high maintenance; she was extremely attractive, and he couldn't get it out of his head that she had a few traits that she hid from the world, a softer side of sorts. and he found himself really wanting to discover what that side of her was like, despite the fact that they'd only met maybe twenty minutes ago. "i'd 'ave no problem gettin' bruised up for a few hundred. first thing i'd do is kick my roommates out." at first, he'd chuckled, but then he really clued into what she'd said. if she didn't think that getting a few bruises were worth a couple hundred dollars, then that probably meant that that kind of money didn't come rare to her. clearing his throat, in an attempt not to look like a typical broke college kid, he shifted in his seat and sucked back another drag. of all the things he could've said, he had to let on that money was something he cherished whenever it presented itself. smoooooth. he had nothing to say to that, so the silence settled in like a thick blanket around bryce's neck. to him, it almost felt suffocating, but that was mainly because he thought the silence was for his comment. but rather than shove his foot further into his mouth, he tried to remain content with the taste of nicotine, and the feel of the sun beating down against his face. now that he thought about it, he wished he'd have worn something a little more.. well, flashy. but when he woke up that morning, he had doubted he'd be getting knocked over by a girl like rory, so making a good impression with his appearance hadn't really been on his mind. suddenly, a sound cut between his thoughts and he glanced to where it'd come from. watching as she stubbed her smoke out, he glanced down at his own as he took another drag, judging about two or three puffs left before he'd have to mirror her in putting it out. it wasn't until he was halfway through his second drag that he noticed she was looking. at least, it felt like she was looking. from the corner of his eye, all he could tell was that she was looking in his direction, but for the life of him, he desperately she was. it'd be better than her looking off over his shoulder at other guys, anyway, even though he'd probably do something that'd make him look stupid. exhaling the last of his cigarette smoke, he raised his left foot and dragged the cherry against the bottom of his shoe. tossing ti away carelessly, he joined rory on her feet and started to grab his stuff. shouldering only one strap again, he grabbed his board and rested it on the top of his right shoe, fidgeting with it occasionally. "you're comin'?" he questioned, actually extremely surprised that she wasn't going to just take off and carry on with her saturday. especially considering he'd already given her the okay to do so. trying to keep his excitement down, he threw on a casual smirk and shrugged his shoulders half-heartedly. "ehh, no. i mean, sometimes i wish i was, but.. seriously, tho'. i fock up once more an' m'gone back to england. you try findin' a university in britain that'll teach the same stuff they do 'ere. trust me, s'not a cake walk." of course, bryce really doubted he'd get kicked out for accidentally knocking into a bookshelf, but he didn't want to chance it. being shipped back home to deal with all of this cocks didn't sound like a very good idea to him. starting back towards the library, bryce was almost tempted to pull out another smoke. he didn't want to clean up the library, and reorder everything the way it was on the shelves, but he was almost sort of looking forward to it at the same time. he'd at least get to know her a bit better. at least, he hoped they'd continue talking throughout the entire thing. it'd go a lot slower if he was trying to find a topic to discuss, but couldn't actually get one out. "so, film studies, yeah? what's that like?" he asked as they walked up the steps to the building's main entrance. "i mean, when you're actually awake, anyways." he added on before she could respond, letting a small chuckle slip from his lips. grabbing the door, he held it open for her, waving her in before him in an exaggerated gentlemen-like way. slipping in after her, he let his eyes cast over towards the main desk, his face instantly twisting at the sight of the old woman's snooty glare back at them. mentally, he made a note to never use the library again unless he absolutely needed to. setting his stuff down at a table close to the toppled over bookcases, bryce ran a hand carelessly through his hair, messing it up even more. "maybe we should.. uh, get the books outta the way, an' fix the bookshelves first?" he asked, glancing towards rory for some sort of guidance. "m'not very good at puttin' shit back together- jus' destroyin' em." [atrb=style, background-color: 202020;] RORY . 1209 . OUTFIT i'm sorry it's so long D: but i hope it's okay!

[/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[RORY AMELIA HUNTER.]

[style=width:350px; margin-top: 250px; background-color: #66969c; font-family: raleway; font-size: 25px; text-transform: lowercase; padding: 5px; position: relative; color: cccccc;]just leave my soul alone

[/style]

Bryce guessing at her full name caused Rory's eyes to widen a little. It was more for the fact he was right than anything else, but she hadn't been called Aurora in a long, long time. Rory had hated that name since she'd been born. It was so... pretentious. "Yeah, it used to be." she answered, with a shrug. "Before I changed it legally to Rory." She turned her eyes back to Bryce, looking at him seriously for a moment, though her mind was whirring as she tried to understand why she even cared, why she was telling him anything. Rory was certainly not the type to disclose her life story, let alone tell someone one of the few things that got a rise out of her. "I don't really want to bring it back, though, if you don't mind." Her tone was slightly scathing, and she rolled her eyes before listening to Bryce's answer to her own question. "Hmm..." She hummed in thought, sure that her classes had been where she bumped into him before. "Oh, well. Guess it doesn't really matter, does it?" With another shrug, Rory turned towards the sun, soaking up as much as she could before they returned inside.

Rory crossed her arms, rolling her eyes impatiently. "Yeah, I'm coming. Someone's got to glare back at the librarian for you." The hint of a smile played upon the edges of Rory's lips as she waited for Bryce to get to his feet. Listening to him talk about going back to England made her smile widen just a little, though she did her best to hide it. As strange as it was, she didn't think she could ever tire of hearing his accent. And she wasn't oblivious to the fact that, although he was definitely not her usual type, he was quite attractive. "So that's why you're here, then?" Rory asked, although the answer was obvious. "Because of the class choices?" Despite herself, Rory was curious. He was so far away from home, on a completely different continent to where he had grown up. Considering Rory had only moved upstate for college, which she had genuinely been excited about when she first started, it really put it in perspective. And her usual bitchy competitiveness made her want to one-up him. But she kept her tongue in check, if only because she felt that she had to help him now that she had said she was staying to help. Rory didn't fancy doing it in silence.

She fell into stride beside Bryce as they walked back towards the library. She turned her face towards the sun, unwilling to go inside and miss most of the day's warmth. Heaving a sigh, she turned her face back towards her prison for the rest of the day, running a hand through her hair, and removing her sunglasses as they re-entered the shade. "Yeah, it's okay." Shrugging, Rory felt herself cringe at her own lie. She adored film studies so much, even hearing that Bryce fell asleep during classes earlier had made her heart sink just the tiniest bit. She let out a small laugh, and shook her head slowly, her honest side winning out for once. "No, actually, it's good. I like it. And I don't fall asleep. I have self control." She grinned at him, tilting her head sideways a little. "Or, you know, I'll just drink a fuckload of coffee." She smiled her thanks at him for holding the door open for her, not exactly used to such treatment from guys her own age unless they wanted something from her. But something told her that Bryce was just genuinely being nice. However, Rory's smile was wiped off her face the instant she made eye contact with the librarian. Rory returned the glare with her own scowl. She was sure that woman was going to make every future trip to the library a complete misery.

When they returned to the bomb site they had left earlier, Rory was disappointed to see that it was still exactly as they had left it. She let out another sigh, blowing her hair out of her face as she placed her things down on a table. Turning back to Bryce, she listened to his suggestion, nodding slowly. "Yeah, that sounds like a plan." she agreed with him, beginning to pick up the books closest to her, and stack them on the table. "Why am I not surprised?" Rory asked, her tone serious, though it was intended as a joke. In truth, she was the same. She hated cleaning, but she could walk into a room and five minutes later it was a complete mess. Once she'd picked up all the books she could, she picked up a shelf and looked at the end of it. She was glad to see the end that hooked into the frame hadn't snapped but it had bent out of shape, and she knew she had no hope of bending it back. Instead, Rory held it out to Bryce for him to look at. "Do you think you could bend this back into shape?" she asked him, waiting for him to take it from her hands. "So, do you miss home a lot?" It was a simple enough question, and Rory didn't feel as if it was prying too much. Then again, she knew some people, like herself, liked to keep things private. Resolved to speak about herself as little as possible, Rory decided she could just bombard him with questions until they were finished picking everything up.

(( askjalkghalkghalkgh. this took me forever. SORRRYYYYYYYY. DDD: ))

[BRYCE CONRAD AKINS.]

[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style, background-color:#202020] [STYLE=opacity:.8; background-color:#202020; padding:6px; width:200px] [/style]

[atrb=style, width:252px;][atrb=valign, top] come one and all, AND SEE THE BROKEN MAN there wasn't a thing in the world that bryce could've done differently to her response about glaring at the librarian for him. he simply smirked sheepishly and glanced at the ground, taking a moment to scrap at the back of his neck. it was true- old people scared him shitless, and she didn't seem like she was the type to be fond of guys like him to begin with, so the situation they were currently in made it a lot worse. he quickly forgot his small moment of embarrassment when she asked why he was in carmel. nodding his head, he tried to sound a little more sincere about it than he actually was. "yeah, for the most part. my family's not exactly the brady bunch, as i've 'eard some of you americans put it." he left it at that, and simply just sent her a small smirk to try and close up his explanation. he wasn't too into talking about his family back home, even though he knew he'd love them no matter what bullshit they put him through. they just weren't a good topic to bring up to a pretty girl you just met. "caffine, yeah? i'll try that next time," bryce responded with a matching grin, almost tempted to send her a bit of a flirtatious wink, but he wasn't sure if he could pull it off without looking like a retard. so, deciding to stick with his grin, he tried not to make it too enthusiastic and let himself slip into the mess of his brain again. grateful that she agreed with his plan, bryce grabbed the stack he'd started to put together, and carried it to the table to get out of the way. it seemed like a lot of books, considering the bookshelves had basically been packed, but he had a little bit of hope in him that said they'd get out before the sun went down. now, if she hadn't decided to stick around, then he'd have been there until closing, he had no doubt. that'd be a way to spend your entire saturday; leave because of your dick-room mate, and get stuck cleaning up a mess that really wasn't your fault for the entire day. "s'probably m'nationality, mixed with that skins show. gives everybody the impression that we're all animals," he started, chuckling a bit under his breath as he started stacking another pile. pausing for a moment to glance up at her, he shrugged a bit, deciding to be honest. "guess you could say m'a little bit like the examples hollywood's decided to exaggerate on. bookcases usually aren't my crime of passion, so this is a first, but.." after carrying his last pile of books to the table, a good portion of the spilled mess being off the floor, he was just about to ask if she'd like to clear the rest of books they could get at, or attempt to straighten the end shelf, when he turned and came face to face with the book shelve's support. blinking for a moment, a look of contemplation came over his features. he reached for the piece of metal despite having no idea if he could, simply because he didn't want to come off like a pussy who wouldn't even attempt something in front of her. he went to work, placing both of his hands on the same arm that branched off to hook into the main bookcase, forcing either hand in the directions to attempt to straighten it. at her question, he glanced up from what he was focusing on, and his face changed a bit, more thoughts processing through his head, but his hands never stopped their work. "sometimes. i miss m'sister, really. sometimes m'mum, but that's really it. i'd rather california's heat than blackpool's gloom." glancing back down, he bit his tongue gently, finally managing to get the piece of metal to bend enough to work again. "what 'bout you? d'you ever miss home?" he asked as he lifted the support, wiggling it back into the still leaned over bookcase. once it was fastened in, he grabbed the top of it and started to heave it back, using most of his weight in order to get it to stand back upright again. once it was in place, he made sure it was stable before he released it, casting an uncertain glance over his shoulder towards the librarian's desk to see if she was watching them. bryce was met with two beady angry eyes, and after thickly swallowing, he returned his attention to making sure that the shelves were properly supported, so that when they placed the books back onto them, they wouldn't just have another mess on their hands to clean up. [atrb=style, background-color: 202020;] RORY . 796 . OUTFIT goddd, i gave you hardly anything to work with D: next one'll be better!

[/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[RORY AMELIA HUNTER.]

[style=width:350px; margin-top: 250px; background-color: #66969c; font-family: raleway; font-size: 25px; text-transform: lowercase; padding: 5px; position: relative; color: cccccc;]just leave my soul alone

[/style]

Rory scoffed a little at Bryce talking about the Brady Bunch. "What, so they put all the foreign students in an American Lingo 101 class now?" Her tone was perhaps a little harsher than she intended, and she tried to soften the blow with a small, half smile. "I don't know. I guess Brady Bunch families aren't really common at all these days. You're more likely to get, I don't know, Weeds families, or Chandler Bing's family. At least in California, anyway." With a half shrug, Rory considered the topic closed. God knew her family, while not unique, was certainly not Brady Bunch-like at all. And talking about her family was not something she wanted to bring up at the moment.

"You'd be surprised how much it helps." Rory responded. "Especially those early morning classes. They're killers." Punctuating her comment with a groan, Rory ran a hand through her hair, frustrated that she even had to take classes scheduled so early in the morning. And they were always the important ones, the ones that when she hauled herself out of bed, she actually ended up enjoying. But that didn't mean the lack of sleep was worth it.

Picking up and heaving the books onto the table was tiring work, but Rory was surprised to find that the two of them made short work of it. Once she was done, she stood watching Bryce, a smile forming on her lips as he spoke about the stereotype he was shoved into. "Aw, I love Skins." she grinned, and even let out a laugh once he'd finished speaking. "So you are an animal then, hm?" Rory asked of him, raising an eyebrow while her grin shrunk to an amused smirk. She couldn't help but run her eyes over him, not finding it hard to place him among the characters she knew from the show. "I guess I can see it. Even if you don't make a regular thing of ruining the librarians' days." With another short laugh, Rory turned back to the books in front of her, trying to get them in something that resembled order.

Once she was done, she resumed watching Bryce, knowing if she tried to help anymore she'd just get in the way. She awaited his answer, a little more eager than she should have been, but the work was just so boring without some kind of conversation. She hummed and nodded in response, agreeing especially with his comment about the weather. From what she knew of England's weather, she'd much prefer it in California too. Rory did, however, find it interesting that Bryce didn't mention his father. She almost asked after it, whether he was out of the picture or whatever the story was, but changed her mind at the last moment. It was too personal for her liking, and she didn't want to offend Bryce, not seriously. Instead, her face brightened into a smile a little as Rory saw that he had fixed the shelf. "Well done." she stated, her voice not sarcastic in the slightest.

Of course the question was then turned to her. "Not at all." Rory answered, short and sharp. But after reasoning with herself that Bryce had been a little forthcoming with his answer, Rory heaved a sigh. "I live with my sister, and my parents were away a lot anyway, so it being just the two of us is nothing new." She shrugged again, stepping out of the way as Bryce pulled the shelf upward once more. Rory kept her gaze on Bryce's face as he looked behind him and swallowed, following his eyes to the librarian giving a dirty look in their general direction. "You shouldn't be so scared of her, you know." Rory couldn't keep the amusement out of her tone, looking back to Bryce as he checked the shelf. "What can she do? I mean, really? Shred your library card?" Turning behind her to grab a pile of books, she began to fill the shelf once more, being a little more rough with the books than the librarian would have approved. "These don't have to be in the same order, right?" The thought struck Rory all of a sudden and she was a little horrified. She couldn't even remember what was on each shelf, let alone what order the books were in. Considering she'd already filled up most of her half, Rory forgot about it almost as suddenly as it entered her mind. "But I suppose stuff like this gives them something to bitch about. They should be thanking us, you know?"

Returning swiftly to work, Rory couldn't believe it when the two of them had stacked all the books. Letting out a heavy sigh, Rory stood back, hands on hips as she admired their handy work. "I think... I think we're done." she said disbelievingly, pulling out her phone to check the time. "That didn't take as long as I thought it would." Returning her phone to her pocket, Rory threw a glance back to the librarian's desk, for once, the lady's attention not on the pair of them. "Shall we inform her ladyship?"

(( do de doo~ hope this is okay! also didn't know where you wanted to leave it, so chyeah. tie it off if you want. c: ))