Déjà vu
Script Writer
All over again.
Posts: 106
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Post by Déjà vu on Feb 6, 2011 2:13:29 GMT -5
Donia Weirich sat in the house’s sunroom on a leather couch, absentmindedly twisting the gold chain about her neck as she gazed out the window. Her sister Katniss was outside, having a hula-hooping contest with a boy who, given a few inches and brown hair instead of blond, could have been Andy, had fate not run its course. She was glad that Katniss was looking so carefree, probably thanks to the move, which had changed the dynamics of the family so imperceptibly that Donia was probably the only one who could have explained it. Regardless, she knew that Katniss was looking so carefree, probably thanks to the move, which had changed the dynamics of the family so imperceptibly that Donia was probably the only one who could have explained it. Regardless, she knew that Katniss was still missing Andy inside, as she herself had missed people from her past before she’d decided that she simply couldn’t care anymore. Foster homes took that sort of a toll on a person after a while.
Donia’s reminiscing was cut short by the slamming of the front door as Lila walked in, her speed skates tied together and slung over one shoulder, a phone to her ear, and a large pile of mail in her arms. “No, Halliwell,” she said as she flicked through the envelopes and magazines, seemingly annoyed that they still hadn’t stopped sending Wes college mail. “I told you, I’m not going prom dress shopping with you. I’m not going to prom.” She almost passed the sunroom by, but paused in one of the doorways, a hesitant expression on her face. “Hold on a minute, Halliwell,” she said, dropping the phone from her ear. “Donia…” she said, looking at the older girl for confirmation before she went on, even though she got no more of a response than raised eyebrows. “I’m not sure you really want to see this, but, uh…” Lila held out an envelope to Donia, who took it with mild curiosity before a slight look of alarm crossed her face. “Thanks, Lila,” she said, simply to dismiss her adoptive sister from getting into her business.
“No, Halliwell, I only went out with Jeremy to make him quit asking me – he wouldn’t shut up. You know that….Hahaha, no, Riley can’t possibly like me like that. I’d know it….”
Donia crossed the room to shut the door then sat down on the couch again, staring at the stamps on the envelope in her hand. Return to sender. Not deliverable as addressed. Unable to forward. A familiar stinging sensation filled her nose and Donia willed herself not to cry. The one thing that she counted on when she moved was that the people she’d known would be where she’d left them, where, in her mind, they belonged. If they could leave, that meant they could change in other ways, too, from the way she remembered them. That meant that they could get hurt. “Oh, Mikhael, where are you?” she said out loud. Her gut wrenched at the thought that he might not be okay.
Days before the Weirichs had moved halfway across the country, Mikhael had left a note in the mailbox for her. He was her next-door neighbor, her friend, practically her boyfriend. He’d set a challenge for her in his letter, letting her know that he was all hers, and daring her to say the same to him. Then, the news came the Lorelai and Lila’s father was sick, and that the family moved to give the three more time together, and to be a support system for one another. It wasn’t something that Donia wanted to mess with, so she went along with it – and it gave her an easy way out. It wasn’t easy, exactly, just easier than the alternative. Saying goodbye, choosing to be alone was always easier than having to be alone.
Donia sat down, a few weeks after the move, and finally wrote Mikhael a reply. His words to her – I’ll wait forever until you can trust me enough to share all of yourself with me – resounded in her head, but she wrote it anyway, freeing him of his commitment to her. It took a while for Donia to drop it in the mail, but she had, and that meant her life with him was tied off.
But he hadn’t received the letter. By some twist of fate, Mikhael didn’t know that she’d decided she was through with him. And she really, really didn’t want to be. Donia reread her letter once more and ripped it up. If she could find him…if he still wanted her…she had to give their relationship a proper try.
“Is it crazy?” she asked Lorelai that evening, as they played a game of gin on the floor in the room they shared. Lorelai thought for a moment as she chose her discard, then looked Donia in the eye. “No,” she said. “It isn’t crazy.” She was thinking about a past relationship of her own, wondering about what might have been. She didn’t know what to say about it now, but she knew that if she made an offhand comment about Matt, Donia was the only one who wouldn’t freak out or take it the wrong way. Lorelai was grateful that she hadn’t been around back then, because she could talk plainly to Donia, and Donia could actually understand.
“Gin,” said Donia as she laid her hand down.
Lorelai dropped her hand as well, so they could count points, and grinned. “So we’re really going to do this?” It was more of a statement than a question.
“You bet,” said Donia. “You and I really need a change of scenery. And we need to stop worrying about everyone else. They really are fine.”
“Riverside, here we come.”
Kristen had asked Kelli Smith – thank goodness for cell phones – to find out where the Tays had gone, when Donia had asked about it, and that was how they learned of the hurricane. That piece of news had been more or less the deciding factor. Lorelai and Donia were moving to Riverside, after checking up on their potentially destroyed house in MABtown.
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“Thank you for your time, sir,” said Donia, as she shook the swim coach’s hand and turned to exit the building. The two had been discussing her times and had reached an agreement that Donia would start practice with the Riverside University team the following Tuesday. Whether or not she’d get to race with them was still up in the air, at least until he saw her swim, but she’d probably get to swim butterfly, at least, in meets. The door swung closed behind the girl, and she sighed happily. She was so glad to be getting away. It was almost as if even the air was fresher in this town. Donia checked her watch, noting that she still had an hour or so before she’d planned to pick Lorelai up from the town’s library, and pulled her camera out of the bag strung across her body. Donia slipped the camera’s strap around her neck and cradled it with her hand as she looked for a shot to capture. She snapped a few nice pictures, but the place simply looked too much like the front of a brochure for anything to truly inspire her, so instead, she let the camera hang from her neck and sat down in the grass, her trunk against the base of a statue, and just watched people stroll by. Yes, she would probably like it here, whether she could find Mikhael amongst the sea of people or not. She certainly hoped that she could, and couldn’t even lie to herself about that.
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Post by kristay on Feb 6, 2011 7:38:59 GMT -5
"Thanks Professor, I'll be sure to practice that tremolo solo when I get home." Kai smiled kindly at the old professor who handed him the sheet music for another song he had been assigned to play. “I’ll go ahead then.” He gave a wave to his teacher before slinging his black backpack over his shoulder and taking his guitar case from where he had left it, exiting the large music room.
He was the last student to leave his class but he didn’t have to worry because it was his last lesson for the day. Mikhael made his way down the hall and smiled at the sunshine that greeted him outdoors. “Hmm, I think I’ll stay here for a bit.” He mumbled to himself as he circled the grounds right outside the Arts Hall and decided to stay by the large oak tree off to the side. Setting his bag down on the ground, he sat on the bench under the shade of the oak before opening his case for his guitar. Kai had recently received an original S6 Cedar Seagull acoustic guitar for Christmas from his grandfather. He propped it on his knee while fumbling for the 0.7mm guitar pick he brought with him everywhere in his pocket. Once he was satisfied, he leaned against the tree and strummed a tune, people turned and smiled at him as he began to play and he grinned right back. Mikhael Tay’s mind however was on something, rather someone, else entirely. He began the familiar G-Bm-C chord progression and smiled a bit as he softly sang the song that he had sung to a girl, a long time ago. I was captured the moment we met, carried away with every word you said…
The song seemed to carry him back into time, a time when he didn’t have to pretend to be happy. It wasn’t that he was upset or angry about the move to Riverside; on the contrary, he was grateful that his family had survived the hurricane unscathed. Sure their house and most of their material possessions had not survived the hurricane’s wrath but at least they were all safe. The move seemed to signal for all of them, a letting go and moving on of sorts. Aya’s boyfriend had a new girlfriend and though he was now living in the same town as them, it had changed Aya a lot. Yume, Georgie and Seraph had been reunited with their significant others while Cameron was getting more and more confused with who and what he wanted out of life. The biggest change for them however was the addition of the Burkehearts to their already expansive family. It was a happy thing for Kai though because Xander had been a very good friend of his when he was younger and now they had time to strengthen their friendship and love of music.
Kai was filled with love, family, and food, that was for sure. But still, he felt empty inside and he knew exactly what caused this emptiness. His mouth twitched into a smile as he remembered the beautiful girl with the sparkling blue eyes who had caught more than his attention; she had gone and stolen his heart as well. He sighed softly, and now she was gone.
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Déjà vu
Script Writer
All over again.
Posts: 106
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Post by Déjà vu on Feb 6, 2011 19:32:33 GMT -5
At first, the soft guitar playing escaped Donia's attention. She was trying to figure out a way to make certain that she'd run into Mikhael, without camping out all day in front of the Arts Hall nearby. That would seem creepy, and besides, even that wouldn't be a flawless plan. As there was only one more weekday before Donia herself started classes, Mikhael's schedule might make such a meeting impossible anyway. Oh well, Donia thought to hereself, resolving to go to as many university functions as possible until she found him. Treasure hunts are suposed to be fun. "Day one," she muttered to herself, turning her Nikon towards herself and the statue and snapping a quick picture.
It was then that Donia noticed the guitar playing, which had changed to a tune somewhat dear to her heart. Even the voice sounded like Mikhael's. The music was coming from behind her, so she stood and walked around the statue. With each step, she became even more excited, and when she caught sight of the guitar player, she grinned. Mikhael. Of course, she could only see the general outline of his body, as the bench faced away from her, but she had several pictures on one corner of her wall that showed the same contours. Donia started taking pictures, trying to be quiet as she moved toward him, but knowing that she wasn't very good at that. She anticipated the next piece of his song as she got close and stopped clicking the camera's shutter. It was a piece of this song that his sister had sung when Donia first heard it, and she now wished she had a nice enough singing voice that she could join in with this boy. By the way, just in case you care, I'm here to stay. I'm not going anywhere.
There was one thing that she wanted, however, before she got his attention, if possible. Maybe she could get the shot she'd wanted so many months ago at the lake when she had first heard him play. She could either climb the oak tree next to him to get the shot -- and probably fall off immediately afterwards -- or she could stand on the bench beside him to take it. Donia settled on the second option. "Don't move, Mikhael. I just want one shot," she said as she stepped up on the bench. The shutter clicked one last time, Mikhael's bent head, as well as his fingers on the instrument, taking up the frame. Donia lowered her camera and sat down, heart pounding rapidly against her chest.
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Post by kristay on Feb 6, 2011 19:45:57 GMT -5
One sweet kiss took away my breath, and you drew me in with your tenderness. You captivate my soul I’m enraptured. Kai continued to sing the song just a bit softer than he should have. His mind was still on the girl, Donia. A mild frown passed through his features as he thought of her and wondered if she had received his letter, if she had read it at all or threw it away when she saw who the sender was. Kai wondered if she had written back but he didn’t receive it because of the constant moving… Or if her silence was the reply she had implied.
He felt a shadow fall over him but he did nothing, probably some random student anyway. But then he heard the voice he had been dreaming about for months and he froze. Don't move, Mikhael. I just want one shot. Kai couldn’t have moved even if he wanted to. He was frozen in place, his heart hammering in his chest, a mile a minute. He felt her get off the bench and then sit beside him and he had to take three deep breaths to remember he needed to breathe to live. Kai turned to her, his brown eyes wide in shock. “Y-you’re here.” He put his guitar beside him, making it lean against the trunk of the great tree they were under before really looking at her. She still looked exactly the same, her hair was probably a bit longer but it was still his Donia right before his eyes. “Please tell me I’m not dreaming or I might die. You’re really here right? This isn’t some… induced-madness from missing you?”
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Déjà vu
Script Writer
All over again.
Posts: 106
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Post by Déjà vu on Feb 6, 2011 20:07:46 GMT -5
"I'm here," said Donia, wanting to reach out and touch his face, but unsure whether or not that would be okay. "I'm really here, okay?" I'm sorry I haven't been." She sat for a moment as she just watched him. Awe was apparent on his face. "Do I need to pinch you or something?" Donia smiled when it registered that he'd said he missed her. "You've missed me?" she asked, not ignorant so much as wanting to hear him say it again, wanting to believe that she hadn't come all this way just to find out that he'd fallen for someone else.
All through this exchange, Donia's camera stayed still. Raw emotion was displayed right in front of her, but the opportunity to get a good shot was lost. This wasn't about a picture. This was about them.
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Post by kristay on Feb 7, 2011 11:11:34 GMT -5
Kai couldn’t have done much more to look more foolish than he already was. “Yes… Please. Pinch me.” He was wrong however, the silly grin that seemed to be perpetually plastered on his features did make him a bit more crazy-looking. He couldn’t help it however; the way Donia’s lips turned up in amusement was one of his few weaknesses. It was then and only then that Kai realized just how much Donia’s absence had changed him. He leaned forward, unsure of what he was allowed to do with her, but throwing caution to the wind anyway. Mikhael brushed his thumb against her cool cheek as his lips quirked into a tiny smile. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”
He pulled away then, surprised that he had done something so personal as touch her; Kai knew that Donia wasn’t too fond of people getting close to her and he wasn’t even sure what boundaries they had now. “S-sorry.” He muttered as he looked away, a faint flush crawling towards his cheeks.
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Déjà vu
Script Writer
All over again.
Posts: 106
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Post by Déjà vu on Feb 7, 2011 17:22:18 GMT -5
Donia reached out and pinched him, her smile bordering on a smirk as she did so, though she was not convinced that it would have any effect. If she didn't remember so well the three-day long car ride it had taken to get here, she probably wouldn't believe that she was really here, either, but it was actually happening. Usually, Donia thought it was weird when people looked at her for an extended period of time, but even with the huge grin on Mikhael's face, she didn't mind at all. The intensity of her own gaze was comparable, and, so far, she felt no shame. She couldn't describe how he looked to her, but looking at him just brought back his moods in the past, the way he'd acted, even a few of the words he'd said to her.
Donia didn't mind it when he placed his thumb against her cheek, but heat rose to her cheeks and her smile widened. She turned away and averted her gaze, as if she could hide it. He'd told her exactly what she wanted to hear, but it still embarrassed her that he thought she was something of value. Kai apologized and Donia did her best to assure him that it was fine. "No, it's alright. Really, it's fine." After a couple moments of silence, Donia looked back up to his face, sighing as she admitted how she felt. "If it's anything rivaling how much I miss you," she said quietly, "then I think I have a pretty good idea, Mikhael." She smiled, but looked down again. She was the one at fault, if blame had to be placed. She was the one who had been gone. Where do we go from here? she wondered.
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Post by kristay on Feb 7, 2011 20:12:36 GMT -5
Kai yelped in surprised at the stinging sensation that came from her pinch. "Ow! Alright this is reality, not an illusion or hallucination. I'm not dreaming, I get it I get it!" He said with a laugh as he rubbed the offended appendage.
Mikhael wouldn't have thought it possible but his smile widened impressively when Donia admitted that she missed him terribly. He was so happy he could fly and the only reason he'd come down was Donia. He stood, grabbed his things and offered her a hand. "Do you want to get out of here? I don't have anymore classes... Unless you have somewhere you need to be." He hoped with all his heart that she'd go with him, he wasn't even sure where they were headed but just as long as they were together, he didn't particularly care that much.
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Déjà vu
Script Writer
All over again.
Posts: 106
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Post by Déjà vu on Feb 7, 2011 22:08:28 GMT -5
Donia couldn't help but laugh as Kai yelped. Sorry. He'd told her to pinch him. "Now you're getting it," she said, a small smile on her face, and almost reaching out to rub the spot herself before he did, to show that she wasn't truly malicious in nature.
"You have a nice smile, you know." Donia was surprised when Kai got up so quickly, but stood up as well when he proffered his hand. "We can go anywhere. I mean, um, no. I have to be at the town library in," she checked her watch, "thirty or forty minutes to pick up my sister. I have a little while, or we could meet later, if you want, or, I dunno, you could come help us unpack," she added jokingly, sure he wouldn't want to do that, but wishing she could be around him for a while. To leave so soon would be to sow a wound only to pull the stitches out after just minutes. "You could show me where your dorm is, you know, so I could find you without having to listen for your songs. Are you staying in a dorm?"
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Post by kristay on Feb 7, 2011 23:32:47 GMT -5
Kai pouted a little as he continued to rub his arm. "Oh well laugh at my pain why don't you." A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth though when she complimented him. A slight flush began to crawl its way up from his neck to his cheeks and he couldn't help but smile a bit more at her. "Thank you. And you already know you're beautiful so I don't need to say it again. But you really are very beautiful Donia."
He started to walk and looked back at her. "Well, did you bring a car? I could take you to the library so we can talk more. I have to get home too, my mom needs the car after. But I want to spend as much time with you as I possibly can today so maybe later we can hang out?" He asked hopefully. "Have you been to Palmer's? Aya said the milkshakes are ridiculously amazing." Kai grinned at her questions, glad that she too wanted to seem him and that this wasn't the first and last time they would speak to each other. "Nope, no dorm. Staying at home, it's pretty near and I don't have too many classes so it's not a hassle for me. We live at Seaview, if you're ever near there. Are you living in a dorm now?" He paused and looked at her, his eyes uneasy and a bit nervous. "Did you receive my letter?"
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Déjà vu
Script Writer
All over again.
Posts: 106
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Post by Déjà vu on Feb 8, 2011 0:00:27 GMT -5
You're welcome, of course. "You're full of it," Donia said, retorting before she could smile at his somewhat apparent blush. At least his skin isn't practically stark white. "And I have plenty of not-so-flattering photos that have been taken over the last few years to prove it." Yes, typically she'd blame the photographer for unflattering shots of people, but that wasn't the point.
"Of course I brought a car. How else would I be picking Lorelai up?" Well, unless I walked home and the car was there, I guess. "So, um, I guess I could either just leave or you could drive me over there and bring the both of us back to my car, but that seems silly, and I wouldn't want to inconvenience you -- or your mother." Donia strolled along beside him, not sure where they were walking to, and left one hand on her camera as if for security as she ran the other through her bangs, giving herself a moment to think. "Later...later would be great. No, we haven't really been anywhere yet. We have hardly been here a day. But milkshakes sound as good as anything." As her arm came down from her face, she linked it around his near one, then resumed talking. "Seaview. I'll have to remember that. I'm not in a dorm, but we're pretty close to the university. I'm not sure what the street is, though," she said, with a light chuckle. "Lorelai read the directions on the way here."
Donia drew in a large breath when she heard his last question. It had had to come up, didn't it? Sooner was better than later. She exhaled quietly. "Yeah, I..." Donia fumbled for the right words. "I wrote you a reply, but it got sent back to me because you'd moved and that's when...that's when I realized I had to come back and see you. I couldn't...I couldn't just never see you again, Mikhael." You're probably the best thing that has ever happened to me.
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Post by kristay on Feb 8, 2011 9:51:34 GMT -5
Kai grinned at her. “It’s not about the pictures; that’s being photogenic. It doesn’t mean that since a person is beautiful, they’re automatically photogenic and vice versa.” He paused and stared at her. “Besides, wouldn’t it be more the photographer’s fault than the person herself?”
He shrugged at her. “I thought you were staying at a dorm here and you were walking; it’s not like the library’s that far away anyway.” Mikhael smiled. “Well, since I’m convinced that we have to spend as much time as we can together today, then I insist on bringing you to the library and bringing you back. The errands my mother asked of me can wait for an hour or two; she won’t mind terribly, I promise.” Kai walked a bit closer to her as soon as she linked arms with him. He almost sighed, it hadn’t felt like it had been so long but now that they were side by side, he realized just how long they had been apart from each other. Just being beside each other was enough to convince Kai that they fit perfectly. “Then I’ll take you one of these days; I swear my cousin’s addicted to them.” He chuckled softly. “Well obviously we’re by the water; not sure why my mom would want a beach house right after our previous house was just destroyed by a hurricane but that’s that.”
They continued walking until they finally reached the parking lot where he had parked his car. He fumbled for his keys in his pocket, unlocking the doors and opening the trunk so he could store his things. Kai closed the back of the car and hurried to open the door for Donia, using the opportunity of silence between them to think of the most appropriate response. He took a step towards her, his large hand cupping her cheek as he gazed into her eyes. “Then I should be grateful that your reply returned to you unanswered, or you wouldn’t be here.” He paused, cheeks flushed as he whispered. “Would you hate me terribly if I kissed you now?”
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Déjà vu
Script Writer
All over again.
Posts: 106
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Post by Déjà vu on Feb 8, 2011 16:42:44 GMT -5
Donia nodded. "I can't argue with that logic," she said. She still didn't have to agree with his claim about her beauty. Donia had always thought of herself as fairly average-looking and wasn't about to change her mind. "But you're still full of it."
"Yeah, I suppose the library is close enough to walk. I didn't know that when we left this morning, though. I believe we'll be Map-Quest-ing like crazy for a while," she said, with a slight, breathy laugh. "You're convinced, hmmm? In that case, I suppose I'll have to let you drive." Donia grinned. It wasn't exactly a hardship for her. She laughed again when Kai said that his cousin was addicted to the diner's milkshakes. Going there still sounded good to her. She shook her head at the next comment. "I don't think I could possibly get a home right next to the water after going through a thing like that. I mean, I saw the ruins of our house, but...I was prepared to see it, and I obviously wasn't there at the time."
Donia walked around to the passenger side of Mikhael's car, but expected that the door was locked, so she waited for him to unlock it, wondering if he'd let her know now that he was upset at how long it had taken for her to even try to respond. Instead, he startled her by stepping close and putting his hand around her face. Her mouth gaped slightly due to the surprise, but she closed it after his question and swallowed, to give herself a fraction of a moment to think -- well, as much as she could when his face was inches from her own. "No," she whispered back. "This time...this once, I'll let you off the hook."
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Post by kristay on Feb 8, 2011 18:39:43 GMT -5
He had to grin at the fact that she had nothing to say to his sound logic. Kai knew that he would never really be able to convince her of how special she was but that’s what he felt and he was a little biased when it was Donia.
Kai chuckled with her and nodded; his family would have been doing the same exact thing if their cars didn’t have GPS. Unlike him however, his mother had eagerly asked their neighbors of places to eat and places they needed to know as a resident of Riverside and that had helped exponentially as well. “Well you know, if you ever need some help finding something, I’ll be around.” He shrugged, that had been what Cameron had been complaining about as soon as he saw the expansive beach house but there was no dissuading his stubborn mother. “Well, that’s what we told her but apparently, she’s impervious to trauma because for the entire day after we moved, she sat out back and watched the water. She seems to really like our new place though.” He wouldn’t admit it to anyone but for the duration of that tragedy, he was extremely grateful that Donia had left, because that meant she had been safe.
Kai smiled a bit, a cocky quirk of his full lips. “Good, because I would have kissed you anyway.” And he leaned towards her, erasing the distance between them and sealing her mouth with his. It was just as good as he had hoped and even better; it was a moment he knew he would never forget.
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Déjà vu
Script Writer
All over again.
Posts: 106
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Post by Déjà vu on Feb 8, 2011 21:34:53 GMT -5
"Thanks, Mikhael, but I hope you'll be around anyway. I mean, I plan to seek your company, not just your knowledge of the area." She was still a little uncomfortable saying such things, but she wanted to try being open with him, for however long that attempt lasted, and she hoped the discomfort would ebb. "Well, I'm glad she likes it. I just hope nothing else happens. One disaster is enough for anyone, I know." Oh, do I know. She looked away, but tried not to think of her own experience with such things.
Standing there waiting was the slightest bit unnerving, but she wanted to let him initiate the kiss. Donia was trying to think about whether or not he actually would have kissed her if she'd told him she would hate him for it when suddenly the space between them diminished to nothing -- along with her chance to think. Donia felt his lips pressed against hers and reciprocated. She went slightly on tiptoe, but kept her hands to herself; they were pressed against the car, fingertips spread and likely sweating against the firm paint and metal. For a few brief moments, Donia deepened the kiss, remembering to breathe properly only as an afterthought, as silly as that was. She then brought one arm away from the car and applied light pressure to his shoulder, breaking the kiss. Donia's face was flushed, but she kept her eyes on him. "We should...we should head to the library."
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