<Insert Title Here> [Darius]

[Rorie Byrne]

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New place, new faces, and nothing new to look forward to.



He wasn’t even really sure why his mom had thought packing up and moving across the country would be a good idea. Nothing would change. People were all the same and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. She’d tried to tell him it was just because they had known him since he was a baby. She had tried to tell him that this was a fresh start where he could make new impressions and maybe get a better chance at whatever future he hoped to have. She had tried. But what if he didn’t know what future he hoped to have? What if he didn’t care? What if he just wanted to sit and be angry at the world for being the way it was for as long as he could remember, and no matter how many new faces showed up, no matter how many times they moved, he wasn’t going to change his mind? What then?



It did give him a bit of an excuse, though. He could paint a new face for the world to hate, one that he’d like, at least. He’d always wanted to dye his hair and just hadn’t been able to get his hands on any color dyes that he’d wanted. They were all browns and blondes and brunettes, which were all boring. If he was going to get in trouble for dying his hair, he wanted a real color. One that, when he was confronted with “Did you dye your hair,” he could respond with, “Hell yeah I did!”



Orange? No, too Halloween-y. Red? Too Valentine’s day. Pink made him think of the dreaded holiday, too. Purple? Eh, maybe. Green? Never in a million years. Neon yellow? Hell no. But blue? Yes. Hell yes. He was going to dye his hair blue…. But how? He couldn’t go home and dye it, his mother would be there. She was currently at home searching for new jobs in the area and whatever else she did on the computer all day. And he didn’t have any friends whose houses he could go over to… But he was determined nonetheless.



He made his way to one of the many mall bathrooms, setting his backpack down in a dry corner. This wasn’t one of the most sanitary of places, but it had what he needed: running water and something to dry his hair with. For a good five minutes he stood at the sink, staring into the mirror. He visualized his long black hair turning blue, starting from the roots and washing down to the tip. He’d picked out a color he thought would match his eyes wonderfully. Yes, this was what he wanted, and he simply didn’t have many options. His new start was going to kick off with a new hair color, and he needed to commit to this. He couldn’t cut out halfway if he started…



Another minute passed as he looked in the mirror. The stubborn face stared back at him. He couldn’t walk out now, not when he was so close to what he wanted. If he chickened out now, society would win, and he would lose. And with that, he turned out the water in the sink, washing it first as best he could with the hand soap that was provided. Next he had to rinse the soap down the drain, causing some water to splash over onto the counter, narrowly avoiding his shirt. Once he’d dried off the counters, he took one final glance in the mirror. Yep, the look was still stubborn. This was a thing that was happening.



Rorie went over to his backpack and pulled out an old t-shirt he didn’t care for and slipped into a stall to change shirts (as he didn’t really feel like risking his ‘good one’.) He’d heard the rumor about how hair turned green if one dyed it blue without dying it blonde first, so he had to get that out of the way. Bleach in place, he hid out in the stall to let it sit, with only his phone as something to pass the time. Needless to say, it sucked. Hard floor, hard walls, having to be really careful to avoid stretching his legs under the ‘wall’ dividing his stall from the other one with the toilet surrounded by a mysterious liquid he didn’t even want to touch with a ten foot pole… (He was certain it was urine, but this was the guys’ bathroom; isn’t that was the urinal was for?) Having to pause his game so that the strangers walking into the bathroom wouldn’t be aware of his presence… Standing, sitting, standing, and sitting again… (The tank of the toilet was starting to be a welcoming chair.) And worst of all, knowing he was only going to have to do this again when he put the blue dye in…



After knocking his phone battery down to sixty-four percent, (it was only so high because of how often he had to pause the game and lock his phone), it was out of the stall and back to the sink. He glanced at the external door that lead back out into the mall, only slightly irritated that it didn’t have its own lock like the stores in his hometown. Oh well, it wasn’t the weirdest thing to walk in on a guy washing the bleach out of his hair, was it? Hopefully he wouldn’t be reported before he could finish drying his hair at least. And it was only after all the time spent using the hand drying machines to dry his hair that he wished he could’ve taken the hairdryer with him. Unfortunately he was undoubtedly aware that his mother would notice the bathroom outlet was unoccupied, something that had never been ever since he his mother started drying her hair, (which was before he was born).



This is taking forever! At least he’d gotten there early. But god he was starving now.



Then it was putting the blue dye in, locking himself in the last stall once more, and waiting out the time on his phone, now remembering to set it to ‘airplane mode’ and save the battery a little bit. When the time was up, he got up again to wash and dry his hair once more, and slip back into his good shirt. Before leaving the restroom, he took his old shirt (now wet and dyed blue in places) and wrapped it in toilet paper before sticking back in his bag.



Rorie looked at the mirror once more and combed his fingers through his hair. The blue matched his eyes, just as he figured it would. With a stomach growl, he exited the bathroom and headed to the food court. If people looked, he didn’t care. He was starving. After getting something to eat and drink, he found an empty table to sit at, set his two nachos and large Coke out to enjoy, and relished in the feel of an actual chair. Since when was a plastic seat so comfy?

[Darius Camellia]

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It hadn't really been an average day for Dari. She rarely got out of the house her freshman year, rarely hung out with friends (she did have them, mind you) and she was far more content in her bed with her laptop and earbuds than anywhere else. It had been a tough year.

But new grade, new start. She'd promised this year would be different, and she was determined to carry this promise out. It had taken seven circles of hell to get her mother to allow her to run around solo at the mall, and even then Dari was "supposed" to only stay in one part of the mall. Like hell she was doing that. She was hungry, and more than capable of handling herself. What would she do when she was eighteen and able to live on her own? Ask her mother's permission to go the mall alone?

She arrived, dressed pretty much as she normally was. Her favorite hoodie, several sizes too big for her, covered both hands entirely and then some. It made the girl look twice as petite as she actually was. All five feet, four inches, one hundred twenty pounds of her - which was still rather light. Actually, from neck to hips, she radiated immaturity and the need for the security in her oversized cotton hoodie. Or maybe it was the stuffed plush pikachu which she held close to her chest. 

How she came to have the pikachu was quite a story. Among the friends she had made during her freshman year, one was particularly understanding of her feelings, unlike others. And before the two friends parted, she gave Dari the now beloved plush. She had happened to visit her doctor that day after school, and had to bring her pikachu along since she couldn't leave it in the car. Ever since, she and her parting gift had been inseparable.

But she did maintain some of her maturity. Her skin tight jeans clung to every curve of her legs, right down to her Converse and the old pizza-shaped car air freshener which hung over the outside edge of one of them. Her scarlet hair was brushed into position and stuck there with a bobby pin, and it hung in straight silks down her shoulders and back like rivers of blood. 

She was in the food court now, her pikachu in one hand and wallet in her hoodie pocket, contemplating what she wanted. It was a little hard to see over the tall guy in front of her - he had vibrant blue hair which caught Dari's attention, but she was more set on getting something on her stomach than conversing. The girl slipped to the side to see around him, and he left with his food seconds later. Seemingly without having noticed the short girl when he turned around, due to her moving aside. She got a soda and set out with her drink and plushie companion to her next grand adventure... Which seemed to be the blue-haired guy, sitting alone. He had two things of nachos, but only one drink. Hm. Maybe the other party was gone with their drink or didn't order one? Still, she felt the urge to talk to him. He had pretty hair. He was alone. Dari was a strange mix of shy and outgoing which encouraged her to walk over. Maybe it was the confidence that pikachu gave her. But maybe he didn't want to talk to her. He had passed her at the food place, after all. But he probably didn't see her, she kept telling herself. She was short and had moved out of the way, of course he hadn't seen her. But maybe he did see her, and he had no reason to approach her after all. She was being creepy for talking to him. Oh no, confidence was wavering!

"I really like your hair," she said to him as she approached the table and stopped before it, across from the stranger. Not quite smiling, but definitely not unfriendly. If anything, her stance gave away nervousness, and the same timidness as a doe might express upon entering a field. Big, dark eyes wide and yet soft.

[Rorie Byrne]

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Once upon a time, a slightly younger Rorie searched the vast, uncharted lands of the internet and came across a most intriguing statement. It claimed that the stomach was always making the hungry grumble noises that his stomach had been making, but one was only able to hear them when one’s stomach was empty, like the way a voice echoes in an empty room, but not at a party filled with people. It would be interesting if it was true, but like the lazy teenager he was, he didn’t actually do any research on the topic, so for all he knew it was a big lie told by people who seemed to be all about informing the public of random and probably useless information. Those thoughts lingered in the back of his mind as he ate.

But in the front of his mind, or rather right in front of him, was nachos. Delicious, crunchy nachos with melted, gooey cheese at mall quality, that was readily available in plastic containers with a special little section specifically for the cheese. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had a proper batch of nachos. Movie theaters sold them, but he always got popcorn there. If he had a little extra cash, sometimes he’d get the chocolate chip cookie dough bites, but that wasn’t common. And he’d never eat them at home, since nachos took effort and his mom had stopped making food for him when he turned fifteen. Sometimes she made a surplus when she was fixing something for herself, typically whenever she was making something to take to work, and he could just stick it in the microwave and be done with it whenever he got hungry, but that wasn’t nearly as often as it used to be. But here at the mall, there were nachos. How much better life would’ve been if the mall had been closer to his hometown.

Rorie had immediately started eating as soon as he’d sat down; since he hadn’t been able to eat after starting to dye his hair and it felt like drying his hair alone took half the day. (Oh, teenagery exaggeration.) He’d made a dent in his first container of nachos by the time a bright red caught his attention, and looking at it revealed a short girl approaching. No, surely not approaching since he didn’t know her, but maybe… Just in case she was actually approaching him, he finished chewing his mouthful of food and swallowed hurriedly so he could respond with whatever was necessary. Maybe she wanted directions or was going to ask him if he’d seen a person of some description around. He focused on wiping his mouth with a napkin, just in case there was some nacho cheese residue that was hiding somewhere. (There wasn’t.)

But just as he had suspected, she was in fact approaching him. When she stopped before the table, the first thing that caught his attention was the bright yellow stuffed Pikachu. Now that would’ve been some cool hair. He could definitely have yellow hair if he could just figure out how to make it look like a Pikachu. Black tips would be necessary for sure, but where would the red circle cheeks go? Wait, he’d just dyed his hair and he really wanted to enjoy the awesome blue, so maybe he’d just think about it when he got tired of his current color. Which would probably be never, but hey, Pikachu hair was still a really rad idea.

Rorie glanced up to look at the girl who had spoken. His lip gave a cheerful twitch when she said she liked his hair. Definitely not the first thing he expected to hear about it, but who was complaining? He didn’t really want to go with the ‘yours too’ route though, so he settled for what he thought was better anyway. He gave an acknowledging nod. “Thanks. I like your Pikachu.” He wasn’t really smiling, of course, but he did his best to project an aura that was overall accepting. After all, the girl was cute, and he didn’t want to chase her off if she wasn’t a real pain like most people. He wasn’t too sure how to start a conversation, but maybe it was okay that he just wasn’t pushing her away.

[Darius Camellia]

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So the guy seemed friendly enough. Those keen eyes, used to over-analyzing the world around her in every minute detail, picked up on the smallest of twitches at the corner of the stranger's mouth, and it didn't seem mocking or sarcastic. Or at least, not to any degree that Dari could admit was real. Not everyone secretly hated her, she reminded herself. For the most part she wouldn't care if they did, but sometimes it would be depressing and lonely. 

Still, that insecurity couldn't stop the child hiding in that huge hoodie somewhere. "Pika pika!" the girl responded in her best recreation of the sound a pikachu made. It was pretty spot on. The sound was accompanied by a grin, finally showing its head now that Dari didn't feel so judged and uncertain. She snuggled her pikachu close for a moment, peering over its head at the blue-haired boy in front of her. After a second or so of showing off her pikachu, she gestured to the seat closest to her.

"Is uh, is this taken? Since you have two containers of nachos, and all, but... But only one Coke?" Dari had lightened up a little, but she was still the same old insecure, uncertain girl she'd always been.

[Rorie Byrne]

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He couldn’t help but smirk at the imitation of a Pikachu. It wasn’t a sarcastic smirk, or a judging one, it’s just that he didn’t like smiling or grinning very much. In Rorie’s opinion, those made him look pretty stupid either way, and didn’t at all display the image of himself that he had in mind. Smirking was a lot like smiling, just only using half the effort, and totally acceptable as long as the bright blue eyes were friendly. The electric mouse pokemon had always been a cute one, but it didn’t even hold a static shock to the girl peering over its plushy head. The display was downright adorable.

He glanced at the chair the girl had gestured to and almost nodded in understanding. Luckily he caught himself, because surely that would’ve been either awkward or just downright embarrassing of a mistake. “Uh, no. It’s not taken.” What possessed the girl to want to come and sit with him of all people, he wasn’t sure. After all, he was hardly ever approached in order to just chat as what was apparently was the case. He didn’t realize how two containers of nachos would appear to the outside world. One hand passed beneath the blue hair to rub his neck, almost apologetic for the misconstrued information. “I was just hungry.”

Looking from his double nachos back to the girl, he noticed the drink in her hand. She didn’t appear to have any sort of food item in sight. Though it was possible that she had already eaten and was just finishing her drink, it was also possible that she hadn’t eaten yet. Rorie glanced back down at his nachos and grabbed the plastic edge of the one he hadn’t eaten out of yet, turning it towards her and consequently moving it a questioning half an inch in her direction. “You’ve got a drink… But no nachos?” He wasn’t a jerk to everybody, just the people who got under his skin in one way or another. Besides, if the internet had anything to say about it, there were tons of girls out there who loved food, and for them, it could be one of the quickest ways onto her good side.

[Darius Camellia]

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She wasn't really sure what drew her to the table. The blue hair probably had something to do with it. Humans were, after all, social creatures that tended to stick with others like themselves. Having had most of her old connections severed, all her bridges burnt, Dari was now alone for the most part. It was a relief sometimes, as she found it difficult to talk to people on a regular basis. She just never knew what to say, mainly because she took every little sign in the worst way possible. Was that short response just all the person had to say, or were they judging her? She was quick to pull away at the first sign of trouble, though that was mostly a bad thing. All of that trouble was made up in her head. It was her protection.

But she was still human, and she still got lonely. As much as she wanted to be guarded and heartless, that heart was still in there and it wouldn't go away. So of course she sat down, setting her pikachu and drink in front of her and revealing her fingertips from her sleeves. She'd painted her nails black awhile back to keep her from biting them, and they'd grown just a little since. She looked at the nachos as they were pushed a little closer, at first not understanding. And then it clicked.

Dari smiled, looking down shyly and shaking her head. "No, I'm not hungry. Thank you, though." I'm fat and I'm not allowed to have that. She'd learned that people would fight that belief tooth and nail if she expressed it, so she simply made excuses. "Just thirsty." She took a sip of her drink and suddenly felt guilty for buying it.

"I'm Darius," she continued, mostly to change the subject. "People call me Dari. It's a pleasure to meet you."

[Rorie Byrne]

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Humans are indeed social creatures, drawn together to common traits and likes. Sometimes even dislikes could form a sense of unity among people, in an ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend’ sense. For now though, there were no dislikes to form a unity, but there were common traits to forge a social bond over, what with both having bright and obvious hair and the apparent shared belief that Pikachu was adorable, or at least awesome enough to carry a plushy of.

“Cute.” Rorie muttered after a moment, quietly, just before sipping on his Coke. Though whether or not he was referring to the shy glance the redheaded girl gave as she sat down or the Pikachu she was holding was up for debate, if she even heard it at all. He nodded, though, when she claimed to just be thirsty. After all, he had no way of knowing the true thoughts behind her denying his nachos. He noted her black nails as he set his drink back on the table. Her red and black theme reminded him of the Georgia Bulldogs from back at home, and his lip gave another cheerful twitch at the drastic difference between the not so appealing mascot and the attractive girl before him. He almost wanted to laugh at it, but the girl across would be clueless and explaining wasn’t exactly an option, so he didn’t.

At least she seemed friendly, offering her name, and immediately shifting him over to a nickname basis. That was a good sign, right? Surely it showed that she didn’t automatically hate him.

A cold feeling dropped in the pit of his stomach as a thought flashed into his mind. Unless this is all a dare between her and some friend of hers. That would definitely make more sense than a cute girl coming over to just have a conversation with him. It was a well-known fact that girls liked to travel in groups while at the mall, but he resisted the urge to look around for a group of girls looking in their direction and snickering to themselves. Instead, he did his best to squash the feeling and smile in a friendly way at Dari. “I’m Rorie. Don’t really have any nicknames.” Or at least none that he cared to share.

He went to eat another nacho, now more conscious of where the cheese was and how he was eating it. On the off chance that this chick wasn’t setting him up to be the punchline of some joke, he wanted to make a good impression. And even if she was, he wanted to go out with at least some dignity. Crap, now he was uncertain and nervous. The cold feeling that had dropped into his gut wasn’t cold anymore, but it was heavy. He suddenly wasn’t sure if he’d be able to eat both containers of nachos. So he played the safest card he knew. “I’m… Kinda not from around here.” He had to stop himself from rubbing the back of his neck again. Once was okay, twice was not. She’d think he had a weird nervous tick or something. He settled for taking another sip of his Coke. He set it down and gestured once more to the untouched nachos. “Don’t hesitate to take them, okay?” Really, I’m not sure I can finish two containers anymore. “I’d feel bad if I was just sitting here eating and letting such a pretty girl go hungry.” Fuck! Play it cool, play it cool. You totally meant to say that out loud. Definitely. And a smile to prove it. I so ruined everything. She hates me now. Maybe there was still time to not be creepy. 

[Darius Camellia]

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Dark hazel-blue eyes showed cheerfulness at the quiet mutter, just barely heard and just barely understood, but she thought she could just barely make out the word 'cute.' Yes, her pikachu was cute! The pleased look passed from the stranger to said pikachu, as if passing on a compliment. It didn't even cross her mind that anyone could think of her as cute. It just wasn't true. Which was okay, of course.

She thought she could just barely detect the edge of something behind that friendly smile, but she pushed that thought away... Only for it to grow cancerous in the back of her mind. God, she was so creepy. He didn't want her around. He wanted her to leave. She'd be doing the world a favor if she just went home and never left ever again- Stop that. Still, she maintained her happy face and smile. "Rorie. That's a really cool name!" And she was honest, too. Never had she met anyone named Rorie before, although she was vaguely familiar with it being an acceptable name. Sort of like her own name. She had never met another Darius and couldn't think of another person with the name, but it wasn't all that unusual.

She was about to ask where he was from when he went back to the nachos. And then she was just about to reply to that when that word hit her. It had taken a second to register, but it took practically no time to formulate a response. She looked around, as if looking for someone. Though she had a slightly playful smile the whole time. "I don't know, she looks like she's already eaten," Dari replied, nodding her head to a girl sitting at a table nearby. But she got the point, and a slight crimson blush was creeping up onto her cheeks now.

[Rorie Byrne]

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At the mention of how his name was ‘cool,’ Rorie gave a skeptical look that simply couldn’t be avoided. His name wasn’t cool, because that would imply some quality of his person was interesting, neat, or otherwise not lame. Well… His hair was pretty cool now. But that was different. If his name really was ‘cool’ as she claimed, wouldn’t it be more common? Liked by more people? Or even thought about more often? His name was a rare, dying name, clinging desperately to life in the vain attempt to not go out of style. Which it already felt like it was, but he wasn’t going to say all that. The last thing he wanted to tell the girl was that she was wrong for her opinion, because that was her opinion. He just didn’t agree with it. “Darius is way cooler.” Even if he would’ve thought it belonged to a guy if she hadn’t said it was her name. Darius was definitely cool on her. Crossover names are hot.

As she started to look around, the pit in his stomach began to grow cold again, freezing the interior lining of his stomach. She is looking for her friends. This is some huge prank to pull on the new guy in town, I knew it! But he couldn't help the automatic confusion when the redhead talked about someone having already eaten. She’d lost him for a moment, and he looked in the direction Darius nodded as if it would hold some kind of answer. Which it did. There was a girl there that he hadn’t even noticed before she was pointed out to him. When he glanced back to Dari, he saw the blush rising on her cheeks and it all made sense. Or at least he thought he saw the picture. It was only after everything was okay that her previous smile, full of playfulness, actually registered in his brain. It’s not a set up. Just relax, man. You’re going to ruin everything.

He grinned at the blushing, Pikachu carrying teen and shook his head. “Nah, not her.” The blush had reassured him beyond a doubt that things were chill, and he found himself suddenly oddly comfortable. Like he had control over the conversation or something. “I was talking about you.” So motherfucking cute. “I didn’t think you could get any cuter, but your cheeks look just like Pikachu’s now.” All red and adorable. He picked up another nacho. “Today is just full of surprises.” First impressions are always important, and the way he figured it, if this conversation kept going like this, his first impression was made.

[Darius Camellia]

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That skeptical look slayed her. Or at least, it slayed her confidence a bit. He didn't believe her. He thought she was lying. Liar liar liar liar. It was one of the curious flaws about Dari - if she was telling the truth but no one believed her, she still felt guilty for "lying." No, it wasn't healthy and there was no reason for it, but it was there nonetheless. At the mention of her name being cooler, she just looked down a bit, still trying to hold on to her cheerfulness which had existed a second previous.

He seemed confused by her (in her opinion, clever) reply, but she was sure he'd get that one. And then he grinned at her. Rorie's didn't seem like a face that grinned too often, but she very well could have been wrong. Dari hid her blushing face behind her pikachu, again peering over it from between its ears. Those big eyes looked up at Rorie, innocent and happy despite the thoughts inside. God, she looked stupid when she blushed. She looked stupid when she grinned, which she was doing now. Stupid, stupid, stupid. All she could manage was a childishly indignant "Nuh uh!" from behind her yellow plush shield, shaking her head and the shorter portions of her Ariel-red hair flipping about her, settling in semi-spikes which they'd been cut to achieve in the first place. Just like every other self-proclaimed punk girl. She was nothing special, but this guy was really cute. She hoped, despite herself and every voice in her head telling her "no no no no stop shut up shut up stop stop stop," that he was single.

[Rorie Byrne]

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Look at her there, hiding behind her stuffed Pikachu toy, blushing away. “You’re so cute, holy hell! I can hardly stand it!” Rorie pushed his nachos to the side so he could place his arms in front of himself, forearm to forearm as a support to lean closer to the blushing face behind the yellow plushy, craning his neck slightly to try and get a view of the adorableness that lurked just out of his field of view. He was playing, which in and of itself was just odd. The fact that he was playing in public was just unthinkable.

But he wasn’t about to lay off just yet, not after catching a glimpse of what he thought was a grin of Darius’ own lurking just barely out of sight. “You’re almost as red as your hair!” Rorie moved back then and brought his hands up to cover the lower half of his face, mimicking her as best he could without having something to hide behind. His (for now) blue eyes held the playful innocence of a puppy who had just now found a new friend. Had he actually been a puppy, his tail would’ve been a violent weapon of flailing, furry glee.

But there was a fine line between playful teasing and hurtful teasing among strangers, and a fear of crossing that line caused him to slowly lower his hands down to the table, a soft smirk that was once hiding behind them now visible. And to further show he meant no harm, one hand would slide off the table and into one of his pockets to find his phone, which would reveal itself as it returned with his hand to the tabletop. “You know… Being new to town and all… It’d be nice if I had someone from around here that I could talk to.” The blue haired, blue eyed boy would give her a playful wink. “Would you be cool with that?” Please be cool with that.

[Darius Camellia]

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The playing and teasing seemed to do a lot for Dari's confidence. Though she still hid behind her pikachu, grinning and blushing, her mind was now completely engulfed in the here and now. The blue-haired boy was definitely cute, though in a different way than what he probably thought of Dari. He seemed... Respectable. He was back to a smirk before she knew it, but not a cocky smirk. He wasn't generic, all smiles and happiness or all misery and woe. She was intrigued and frightened at the same time by his very presence, as she knew herself better than anyone else did. Dari knew she was constantly in danger, her heart all wrapped up in a bow, ready to be presented. It was odd to think such things of a complete stranger, but the alarm bells were going off nonetheless.

"Two oh six," she began, pausing to make sure he was ready. "Three nine nine, five two five two." Her number, as it had been since her move to Rainy City years ago. She'd dropped her old area code to put her past behind her. All it had done was create a new past to run from, but that was okay. Here she was, beaming at the blue-haired boy. She even managed a wink. "Hit me up anytime. I'll show you around." 

[Rorie Byrne]

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There was a certain feeling on Christmas morning of years long since passed. After the letters to Santa were hastily scribbled onto whatever piece of paper those little hands could get ahold of, and after you were writing in such an excited manner that you broke the green crayon you had been writing with and now switched to green because you needed a new crayon and red and green made Christmas colors on your Christmas list. After you took the time to throw oatmeal around the yard for all the reindeer and were only slightly disappointed because you couldn’t put nine bowls of oats on the roof for when Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph all landed on your roof, bringing Santa to the house and with him his bag of toys which surely held everything that really mattered on your Christmas wish list. (Because as a child you only remember the really important items like the new computer game or a bicycle and you don’t remember asking for that medieval castle filled with knights and dragons and a chocolate moat river.) And after you fall asleep wondering if your parents put “P.S. Lots and lots of pajamas and socks” because there’s no other way Santa would pack so many non-toy items for you if he realized you didn’t actually want that on your list.

It was the feeling of Christmas morning for Rorie in that moment. The only difference was instead of seeing the newest game playing device as he unwrapped it while his mother made coffee, he heard the voice of the cutest Pikachu-carrying chick in all of Rainy City telling him her phone number. He spoke the numbers she told him as he typed them into his contacts, “Two oh six, three nine nine, five two five two.” And with a conclusive nod he saved the number under 'Darius' even though he knew he’d change it to something else later. Maybe it would involve her stuffed pokemon or her bright red hair. Maybe if he could think of something witty, he could make the nachos a part of the name, but he doubted he’d come up with something good with that as his focus.

After saving the number he shot her back a short little text just so she’d have his number, too. Heyy ;D is all it said, but he hoped it would say enough. With that settled, he returned his phone to his pocket, his full attention back on Dari. “Maybe we could meet up later and you could show me your favorite places in the mall?” It was a question and a suggestion simultaneously. Being new to town, he didn’t really know all the fun things to do, so maybe Dari had a better idea in mind. But if she didn’t, it was at least an idea where they could start.

[Darius Camellia]

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She was scared, but she'd live. She always had. This was just another guy that would say he wasn't ready for a relationship when he flirted, and he'd call her beautiful to her face and say the same to other girls behind her back. He'd shy away from any meaningful discussion, keep his secrets guarded, and be little more to Dari than she was to him - just a pretty face. That was how things always went. She was used to it, though, so she wasn't upset. Optimism was the key to happiness for her.

She grinned at him when her phone buzzed in her hoodie pocket, the vibrations audible. He must have sent her a text. But she'd read it later. She knew it was him, so why should she check it now? He was sitting right across from her. If he had something to say, he could say it aloud, in person.

"Absolutely, she responded. "And there's always the Starbucks, the abandoned house..." All sorts of interesting locations that she could show him! She suspected he was thinking something along the lines of sex, but that was definitely not an option.

[Rorie Byrne]

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Science says that it only takes about 7 minutes within the first meeting of two people to decide if one likes the other. Unfortunately, it also said that the majority of that had nothing to do with what was said between the two people. Rorie wondered in the back of his mind what Darius would remember about him once they parted ways. Would she think he was funny? Would she think him just cute? Or would he just remember him as that guy with blue hair that was flirting with her in middle of her trip to the mall? It was hard to tell, and maybe he would never know.

He almost made a joke about her being ‘that type of girl’ when he heard Dari’s phone vibrate, however it registered that he didn’t know if that was something she would laugh at or if it was just the quickest way to get him slapped, so he chose against that action. Instead he just gave a half smile back at her. “And now you’ve got my number, too.”

Curiosity sparked in his, for now, blue eyes when the words ‘abandoned house’ were spoken, and he wanted more than anything to ask her to show it to him as soon as there was time. Though, again, he chose not to, figuring that he would definitely be labeled creepy if he hadn’t been already. So he decided to go with the other option. “Starbucks would be great. The closest one to my old home was forty-five minutes to an hour away, depending on traffic. So definitely need to find out where the Starbucks is.” And if he ever needed Wi-Fi away from home, he’d know where to go.