Only on social occasions... (Open)

[ChocoRem]

"Thank you very much..."

He bowed, a small one, out of force of habit. The technician on duty gave him a confused look, but said 'you're welcome' regardless. All this polite, sophisticated behavior had Rem's mind wondering back to his years in Japan. There, he had been a wild card, cursing his society's urgent need for stability and order, while reveling in his own urgent need for freedom and anarchy. Ah...the good old days. But they were gone now, along with that old Rem.
Rem's favorite hang-out, the tech center, mainly the computer lab, was the HUB for most of his activities. The constant humming of CPU's, the flashing screens, the bespectacled denizens having LAN parties. He took a deep breath in. These were definitely his people. Sort of.
While Rem was at home in this environment, it wasn't his element. He would rather be in the library, reading a book, or punching on someone, but the latter was a controllable urge. He walked out of the lab, adjusted his glasses and took up a brisk pace as he walked to the library.

[Sara Quinn]

Sara walked out of the library, her gaze on her hands which were digging to her bag. She had finally managed to get that book she needed for that report. The book had been taken out by some kid who hadn't returned it, and it was over 4 weeks overdue. She had waited patiently, checking back to the library nearly every day to see if it was back, but it never was. The other day, Sara had managed to coerce the ~oh so sweet~male library helper into giving her the name of the guy who had the book. Then, yesterday, she had paid that student a little visit!~Wasn't she good?

She smiled to herself as she forced the book further into her bag, trying to fit it inside. She didn't normally do things like pay "visits" to people, but it had been necessary. She wasn't going to fail her report because some kid was to stupid to return a book. She really hated stupid people. Her frustration was rising as she tried to make the book fit nicely into her bag. It wasn't working. She was so intent on what she was doing that she turned a corner and walked right into someone. Her bag dropped to the ground.

She looked up. Huh? There was nothing up there... She dropped her gaze, looking into the face of a guy. Straight into his face. What was this?... Someone the same height as her?... She looked him up and down, making sure he wasn't on his knees or something. Oh wow, well this was... Amazing!

"Hi~I'm Sara!" She grabbed him by the shoulders, holding him in place. When you were this short, and you found someone as short as you, you tended to get a little excited. Her expression turned serious. "How old are you?" God forbid he tried to get away from her~

[ChocoRem]

Stalking through the corridors, Rem's mind had been on other things, mainly, what book should he check out from the library. He had become such an avid reader that he was in the midst of five novels, and here he was wondering about getting a sixth. A pretty bad habit, but he could hardly care less.
And then, he collided with some unknown force. Having been used to running into things during his youth, Rem simply braced his knees and spread his legs apart slightly to keep himself from toppling over. His fists balled and he hunched his back oh so slightly, adopting a fighting stance that provided the most leverage possible. However, he didn't need to.

"Hi~I'm Sara!"

An incredulous girl, just as tall as he, stared wide-eyed into his face. He cocked his head to the side slightly. She'd just bumped into him and here she was acting as though they were old friends. Rem eased up, still a bit wary but not feeling at all threatened.

"How old are you?"

The moment her hands gripped his shoulders, Rem tensed. He'd avoided human contact (other than the usual face to fist, foot to chin kind) and would usually tensed up whenever anyone entered his personal space. He didn't trust people enough. He didn't trust girls enough. He scoffed, shrugging her hands off of his shoulders, and took a step backwards, giving the girl a look of disdain.

"Wouldn't you rather apologizing for bumping into me before asking me my name, Sara?"

[Sara Quinn]

Sara felt the guy tense under her hands. She took in his expression and realized that he looked really uncomfortable. His face took on an expression along the lines of disgust. Well... that wasn't very polite was it?~ He shrugged her hands off of him and stepped away from her. How rude... Sara met his gaze and expression with her own, her look of disgust matching his as she took her own step back.

"Wouldn't you rather apologizing for bumping into me before asking me my name, Sara?"

"Tch..." She should have known better then to think that just because she had finally... FINALLY... found someone who saw the world from her height, that they would be a nice person. Touchy wasn't he? Mr. Sensitive. She felt the anger rise her, embarrassed because he wasn't as excited as she was.

"Tch, well I'm sorry, but I don't give a rats ass about your name." She paused for a moment. No that wasn't true, she did. So to avoid offending him further, she added, "At the moment. I wanted your age." She gave him a wicked smile, crossing her arms over her chest. As she saw it, he had two options here. Continue to insult her kindness and excitement, and risk her ~infinite~ anger, or start being nice to her and they could be short together~ Her smile got bigger. She was good with either.

[ChocoRem]

"Tch, well I'm sorry, but I don't give a rats ass about your name. At the moment. I wanted your age."

Rem arched an eyebrow as the girl folded her arms across her chest, a bit amused by her response. He noted well, the look of confidence she gave off, but remained unabashed in its wake. He dug his hands into his trouser pockets and tilted his head downwards, slightly.

"Decorum dictates you properly introduce yourself to someone and have them give you their name before asking other such rudimentary questions. It also accounts for apologizing when almost knocking someone off of their feet."

His glasses had slid down the bridge of his nose, and he gingerly pushed it back up again.

"Or are you willing to admit that you are exceptionally rude? I'm okay with either, really."

Rem's face had lost its look of distaste and now wore a mask of bemusement, as though he were genuinely puzzled by her rude demeanor.

[Andy]

The library was definitely bustling with people from various backgrounds and settings, such as the punk from downtown with his purple mohawk and pierced nose and the disciplined ROTC cadet, with his cap and neat uniform. The librarians weren't slacking either as most of them were occupied with organizing and assisting people on their scavenger hunt for books and newspaper articles. The world around him buzzed with silence and explosive liveliness all at the same time.

Index finger on his lower lip, Andrew browsed through the "Religion" section of the library with hopes of finding literature written by an author he had recently heard of, Soren Kierkegaard. There was nothing under the "K" section, much to his dismay.

Turning away from the shelves of books, he began to stride out of the bookstore with his scarf in hand. He had always been sensitive to climatic changes, and his recent change of locations had brought him a slight cough. As he opened the door, a draft of rather chilly air rushed past him, making his scarf flutter in the breeze like a flag on a windy day. A cough from the rather small boy followed shortly after. Sniffling, Andrew blinked twice with a rather hesitant look on his face, and turned on his heel and headed back inside. Maybe he should try to exit through the other door, the one with less connection to the breezy winds which lurked outside.

"Maybe I should have taken some lozenges this morning..."

The library was nice and warm, and being inside felt like heaven. He exited out the other door and began to shuffle down the corridor until he caught sight of a rather peeved pair, standing in front of him. Good thing he had stopped before he ran into the female who had a positively triumphant posture.
"Or are you willing to admit that you are exceptionally rude? I'm okay with either, really."

[Sara Quinn]

Sara continued to smile at him as he dropped his head to the side, looking at her funny. She held her gaze, but she could feel herself protesting it. She was confident in her abilities, and she was confident in her appearance, and all that jazz. She was not confident in her social abilities though. She had gone out a limb there to ask him that question and he had blown her off. What an ass... He started to speak, and as he spoke her smile faded, her arms falling from her chest to rest at her sides.

O_____________O

Why did she feel like she had just been trapped inside a concrete box with no way out?

She watched him push his glasses back up, keeping her gaze interested and questioning, keeping the confusion off her face. Sara wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but she knew damn well he had just insulted her, badly, and left her with no way out but to admit she was in the wrong.

Well if there was one thing she could NOT deal with... It was people putting her in a position where she was lower then them. Her ODD began kicking in. She felt the anger and the determination to defy everything he stood for bubble up inside her. And she did the only thing a self-respecting 5'2" girl would do to a smart-ass, rude, 5'2" boy when they were put into this position. She drew her right fist back and threw it forward into his face.

See how the little walking dictionary like that eh?~

[ChocoRem]

He had seen the punch coming. It was to be expected. Being an asshole had done a lot for predictability in situations. It almost always usually ended up this way. Since he had followed from point A to point B, he had the option of dodging, defending at his own leisure. However... he would have a little fun.
The time he could have used to defend, he simply removed his glasses to prevent them from falling prey to the girl's assault. Then he glanced up at her and, with a smile, took the punch square in the cheek. The blow was surprisingly strong, but Rem had had worse, much worse. You didn't battle the likes of Valekin and "Unfettered" and not become tolerant to pain in some degree. His legs buckled slightly at the blow, but his practiced stance kept him from toppling.
Then, he'd simply place a hand on her fist, gently, and smile at her. A warm, genuine smile, marred slightly by the blood that trailed from his lips.

"Quite the aggressive one, eh? Not bad. You should learn to keep your anger in check... next time, you might not unleash it on a nice guy like me."

Then, he'd use his other hand to pat the top of her head.

"My name is Rem Aoyama. I'm 17."

[Andy]

Ouch. That punch looked like it hurt. And from a girl as well...which was unusual because he was expecting a slap of some sort. Something to do with a palm. But this girl just punched. Now that was scary.

Cringing, Andrew backed away a bit and moved off to the side. He circled around the girl until he was perpendicular to both of them and standing away at a relatively safe distance. The situation was peculiar, much more than any other situation he had ever encountered. Surely, the older male looked fully capable of blocking the attack with a counter or by raising his arm up, however he had not done so. Why?

There was a moment of awkward silence as the sound of the punch echoed down the corridor. No sound, except for that of the fist connecting with the face. The male's visage seemed to lighten up, with the peeved appearance disappearing and being replaced by a genuine smile.


"Quite the aggressive one, eh? Not bad. You should learn to keep your anger in check... next time, you might not unleash it on a nice guy like me."

Oh. That deserved some applause. Some merit. Well...something to recognize his nerve to take a punch and still be kind hearted. Maybe it was something of a punishment.


"My name is Rem Aoyama. I'm 17."

[Sara Quinn]

Sara was oblivious to the fact that they had an audience. If she had known, she probably wouldn't have cared either. Her fist flew forward at his face. She had expected him to dodge and counter, but he didn't. That surprised her, caught her off guard. It was normal that in most cases, the first hit never landed. That was just how it worked. And especially with such a simple attack... She was confused. Was he a shit fighter? Was he crazy? He had managed to remove his glasses before she had hit him, so he had seen it coming. He had let it hit. That left crazy.

She was so surprised that she hadn't even pulled out of the attack. his hand took her fist, and he smiled at her. He was bleeding, but it was still a real smile. She couldn't bring herself to return it. This was just to weird for her.

"Quite the aggressive one, eh? Not bad. You should learn to keep your anger in check... next time, you might not unleash it on a nice guy like me."

She flinched when he patted her head. Yes. Flinched. She had expected that to be his attack, and was flinching from a simple pat to the head. Emotions rushed through her. She didn't know what to think or feel. She was angry at what he said. It implied so many different things. She had anger issues, she was weak, she couldn't handle herself. She was surprised that he wasn't countering. She was embarrassed and blushing because of the pats to the head. Made worse by the fact that he was the same height as her.

"My name is Rem Aoyama. I'm 17."

And again. That thrill. He was 17. This was... EPIC. Her face lost the hardness, although the anger and violence was still there. 17. The same height as her. Amazing. ~Oh how easy she was to please!~ She could only think of one thing to say to him. "I'm 17 to..."

She didn't move an inch, waiting to see what he did. She wanted to fight. Sara was always up for a fight. But a friend was good to... Especially if he was the same age and height as her. That was... awesome. So if he wanted to fight more, then bring it on. If he was willing to hang out... then bring it on. Rem. Interesting.

She glanced around quickly, finally spying their one man audience. Her gaze stayed on him for a moment, her eyes questioning. Then her face hardened. What? Did he have a problem with two short people fighting in the halls? She tried to keep her embarrassment out of her voice as she called out to him. "What? Got a problem?" Yet at the same time, she didn't want to scare him away. It was true, she did need to learn to play nice~She needed some allies in this school.

[ChocoRem]

The look of incredulity on Sara's face was well worth the pain. He didn't let the satisfaction show on his face though, instead, keeping the smile going.

"I'm 17 too..."

The hand on her fist gently guided it away from his cheek, downwards. Then, he gingerly rubbed the area he'd been hit in, wiping the blood from his chin in the process. She seemed pretty aggressive, a useful trait... maybe...

"What? Got a problem?"

"Hmm, Sara...are you attached at the moment?"

Rem turned to see the newest recipient of Sara's aggression. A strange youth. Odd, he hadn't noticed him. Probably with the being hit in the face and all. Silently, he'd await the newcomer's response to Sara.

[Andy]

Andrew watched the two exchange responses and then, all of a sudden, both of their eyes were on him. The girl seemed to soften up, however her facial expression turned stone solid when she saw him.

"What? Got a problem?"

Her face had been flushed with color a moment ago, but now it was devoid of any color whatsoever. Hmm...her voice quavered slightly when she began to speak, yet turned normal as soon as she formed the second word. Maybe she had a cold too? Holding back a cough, Andrew cleared his throat once as his eyes lowered slightly, away from her gaze as well as the other male's gaze.
"Sorry if I offended you. I was planning to pass you two and head on my way, however I noticed the tense feelings being exchanged. So I stopped to see what was going on."
He coughed once more and cleared his throat again. The cough was becoming worse, however he tried his best to contain it. His gaze landed on the slight wound which the male had on his face. If he could, he would have offered a napkin, tissue, or some sort of cleaning fabric or item, however he had nothing on him.
"My name's Andrew, it's a pleasure to meet you two."
He added a smile to his sentence.

[Sara Quinn]

Sara felt Rem move her hand gently away from his face. She didn't fight the slow guiding, but she didn't let her fist unclench either. With some people you just never knew what they were going to do. Her gaze never left the face of the guy who had been watching them.

"Hmm, Sara...are you attached at the moment?"

She was confused by his question, but it barely showed, her gaze was so intent on the face of the guy across the hall. Who knew, maybe the new guy was actually eavesdropping. You needed to be careful with these things. Not that they were actually talking about anything important. Still, she wasn't going to answer him yet.

The guy across the hall cleared his throat and spoke, his gaze dropping. Sara like to think it was because the power of her glare at him was so strong he just had no choice but to look away. Of course that had to be the problem~

"Sorry if I offended you. I was planning to pass you two and head on my way, however I noticed the tense feelings being exchanged. So I stopped to see what was going on."

She nodded. That was fine. She probably would have stopped to watch if there were two people fighting in the halls as well. Her gaze on him softened, and she gave him a small smile, turning her body from Rem to face him. She watched as his gaze fell to Rem. It made her look to. Nothing serious. She hadn't hit him to hard, so of course it wasn't going to be to serious. She wondered if he was going to fight with her some more. She loved fighting. It would be the first time she fought someone so close to her height. She didn't want it to stop yet.

The guy coughed and told them his name. She smiled and let her gaze fall back to him. "I'm Sara. And this is Rem!" She slapped him on the back... a little harder then she should have, smiling at Andrew as though she and Rem had been friends forever~ What?... Didn't mean she wasn't still mad at him for being a little know-it-all.

Her hand slid from his back to his shoulder, pulling him against her side. She spoke to Rem, quietly, her voice hard, her eyes again not moving from Andrew. "Attached to what?"

[ChocoRem]

"Sorry if I offended you. I was planning to pass you two and head on my way, however I noticed the tense feelings being exchanged. So I stopped to see what was going on. My name's Andrew, it's a pleasure to meet you two."

Rem simply raised his hand in acknowledgment of the boy. He would have introduced himself, if Sara hadn't already done it for him. His body rocked each time the girl hit him on the back. It was annoying, but he decided that complaining would do nothing but prolong this torture of a situation.

"Attached to what?"

Ah, back to the point at hand. Coming from her, though, Rem realized how it must have sounded; as though he were attracted to her. He smacked his own forehead and chuckled. It was a curse, a bad habit he'd developed as he pursued a more intellectual lifestyle. His thoughts were precise, and often moved at the speed of light. His body, more specifically, his mouth, could not keep up, and thus Rem would always blurt out the tail end of his usually lengthy trail of thought. As a result, he usually had to go back and explain exactly what he had meant by it. This time was no different.

"I apologize, that was vague. I meant to ask, are you affiliated with any particular group or organization? Currently."

[Sara Quinn]

Sara waited patiently, a smile plastered on her face for Andrew, for Rem to answer her question. That wasn't the sort of thing you just up and asked just meeting a person. Now who needed a lesson in manners~? She kept her gaze focused on Andy as she rubbed her hand up and down Rems arm, praying it was rubbing salt in the wound for him. She didn't know why she wanted that, she just did. Really, did she need a reason~? She could still feel the excitement from the punch, adrenaline running through her body. She was so easily excited by the prospect of the fight now. What a change that was from her old self. And she found she was hating the change less and less.

"I apologize, that was vague. I meant to ask, are you affiliated with any particular group or organization? Currently."

At the mention of 'groups and organizations' the anger flared again, and the smile dropped from her face, as she was unable to hold it there. Her body hummed with the need to fight again, and her hands began to shake. She dropped her hold from his shoulder, but kept close to him, interested, on some level, in where this was going. The idea of being involved in something with rules and structure blew her mind into a whirlwind of disgust, yet... She was always open to new things. Her voice took on a dangerous edge.

"No. I'm not." God, she wanted to kick something now... Fucking rules...