Time Out (Olesya)

[Olesya]

"The Tandoori Chicken is pretty good, I also like the Chicken Tiki Masala."

Man, all this talk of food was making her stomach growl, not to mention the sweet aromas that floated from the kitchen to their table. She was definitely looking forward to indulging herself in what they had to offer here, if it lived up to what Mathew said.

When he mentioned gang wars, she quirked her eyebrow, the corners of her mouth turning downward slightly. Granted, she was no better, talking with various people (including Emily) about systematically taking out the Dragons, the Reapers (whoever they were), and the pillars. Though Mathew was a pillar, he wasn't a Dragon anymore, and that made her feel a little bit better.

She smiled mildly as he ended quietly, indicating that he had made progress and was doing more, or less rather, of what he used to. She nodded, leaning slightly on the table they were sitting at.

"How have you been? I mean, with all of that?"

It had been a real shocker that day at the cafe, and she hadn't really heard from him since his breakdown. She wouldn't blame him if he tried to play like it hadn't happened, but seeings that he's gotten out of the gang seen, and he wasn't wearing that Dragon coat, and he was smiling more, it seemed like he was doing better, but it would be best to ask anyway. After all, she was interested in knowing, not assuming.

[Mathew Amtrum]

He frowned a bit when she asked about how he had been dealing with everything. He really didn't like to talk about it, his nose had just healed after the events of that first day. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but he still didn't like having his nose broken. It was his fault though, he lost focus. The floodgates had been opened and he didn't try hard enough to hold it back. He got lost in his head, it was stupid of him, but it happened.

"Mreh, so so. I am trying, but I don't know. It really doesn't seem to matter. You know what happened, before our little talk. Since I have become a Pillar, I have done nothing but protect the students of this school and 259. Seriously, I have been fully dedicated, I break up fights, I help out kids that are in trouble. And this one kid has the fucking nerve to start a fire calling us out, then saying that we are fake helping. How do you fake help someone off a flag pole?"

He was a bit pissed. He was really trying, hell he had been trying before him and Olesya had talked. And people had the nerve to call him a liar. Mathew never lied, he had a reputation for honesty. And it really pissed him off, he had wanted to smash that kid's skull in. He had really wanted to hurt him, but he had managed to keep his cool. It was a small victory, but it felt like a large defeat.

[Olesya]

Les frowned, understanding his frustration. The student body didn't realize just how much the pillars did, and when she had the title of varsity captain, she was constantly having to prove herself to the sports teams, the students, the hot shots, the whiz kids, the sports teams (again and again), and it felt like she wasn't accomplishing much of anything in terms of respect.

"It really is a thankless job...being a pillar."

She agreed with a slight nod of her head.

"I guess the best you can do is do good by your self. As long as you know what you're doing is in the best interest of the school, and are motivated to leave a lasting positive impression, that's all that counts."

[Mathew Amtrum]

Mathew knew that she was right, that this change was for him and not for others. But that didn't make him feel any better. A little bit of praise would be nice, after all he was putting himself in harm to protect others. A little appreciation would be nice. Never mind that not long ago Mathew was on of those people making challenges and starting trouble, that was beside the point. When Mathew did it he was doing it for the people, deep down, somewhere. He saw it as rescuing them from unfit Pillars.

"I suppose so.... still.... a parade or something would be nice." He said looking up to meet her eyes, a small grin on his lips. "Ok maybe a parade is a bit much, but it would still be pretty sweet." He said trying to get off the emo track with some jokes. He didn't like feeling mopey, though he was getting better at it, back to his old self, which was good.

"Anyways, you said your family likes Indian food?" He asked trying to change the subject for the time being. This wasn't about business he was trying to get to know her. It was a date, at least in his mind.

[Olesya]

She completely understood the whole appreciation thing, and to be honest it kind of wore her down during her time in the student hierarchy, but the students were going to be students. They were still gonna fight and bitch and complain for no good reason, and the best they could do was try and keep some sense of order.

When Mathew mentioned a parade though, she laughed, imagining a procession complete with dancers and a 15 foot tall paper mache float of him waving to the crowd and winking. That would be a sight to see for sure.

"Oh, yeah. My family enjoys Indian food. There's 6 of us, my mom and dad, older sister and brother, me, and my younger sister Gabri, who you saw today. My brother, dad, and I like the spicy sorts of foods more than the rest, but we all like to go out once in a while, now that we're all grown up."

She felt like she was babbling, and generally didn't like just talking about herself, it was kind of awkward. Of course if he asked, she would tell him whatever he wanted to know, but she wasn't going to go on for hours about something he wasn't interested in. It didn't make for good conversation.

"What about your family?"

[Mathew Amtrum]

When she asked him about his family he let out a small laugh, shaking his head. Despite the laugh he didn't want to talk about his family, that was not a happy topic. He didn't really get angsty over it, but it wasn't the best topic for a first date.

"If you want to know I have no problem talking about it. But it isn't really a happy story, and I don't want to kill the mood. But if you really want to know I will tell you about my family."

He said with a shrug, he really didn't have a problem with telling her, but his tone did make it pretty clear that he would rather not talk about it right now. It really wasn't good table talk.

[Olesya]

She blinked, smile disappearing from her face. She hadn't meant anything by it at all, she was simply returning the favor since he had asked if her family liked Indian food. She didn't mean anything by it, and certainly didn't want to bring up any more heavy topics, she was still recovering from the last one. She shook her head, smiling sheepishly.

"No, it's okay. Sorry."

Now would be the opportune time for a change of subject. C'mon Les, dig into your volumes of knowledge and think of something! She leaned on the table, looking at him and resting her chin on her hands in an intrigued fashion.

"Hm. Tell me, what makes you tick? When you aren't ruling the school and sweeping ladies off their feet, that is."

[Mathew Amtrum]

"Wait you mean there is more to me then seducing women and controlling large bodies of people?" He asked blinking in such a serious tone it was obviously a joke. Sure enough a moment later his serious face split in to another grin. It felt good to smile again, and for some reason he was happy that he was smiling with her.

God what is this? These feelings are not me. I mean I am having fun, I always do. But this just feels different.

"You know it depends on how deep you want to go in to it. For a long time I was pretty aimless. I fought a lot, but I loved it, I craved it. I just wanted to be strong, so I could do what I wanted. Some stuff happened at my old school and I changed my plans a bit. I decided that I wanted to make the world a better place. That I would do it anyway I could, even if it meant being the monster that people needed to unite against, because then at least they would be united right?" He said with a grin, though he realized that once again this wasn't the best topic for a first date, this time he would change the subject.

"But on another note, I enjoy long walks on the beach, watching the sunset, and I really enjoy kissing you." He said with a grin. It was a statement of interest, he didn't just want to be friends. He wanted this to develop past that, and he also wanted to see if she would blush.

[Olesya]

Les blinked back at him at his serious statement, but snorted, suppressing a laugh as he was clearly kidding. A few months ago she would have pegged him as just that. A power hungry womanizer, but now? Now he had some substance to him. He was funny, charming, cute, and not all that painful to hang around. After all, she was here, right?

She nodded when he said he loved fighting. Growing up in the public school system, you learn to love it or hate it. Granted, Les had gone to a private school up until the end of junior high, so she was a little less exposed than most students, but she loved fighting, saw it as a game. A healthy competition. It was invigorating, and even when she was fighting seriously with Matrim for the title of VC, it was still fun to her. I guess you could say she craved it, but not to make herself stronger to achieve some sort of powerful goal, but to make herself stronger as a person. Something like that.

"But on another note, I enjoy long walks on the beach, watching the sunset, and I really enjoy kissing you."

...

Well if he wanted her to blush, he knew what buttons to push. Her cheeks pinkened ever so slightly, simply because she was surprised, it kind of came out of nowhere. Les wasn't used to this sort of treatment. Sure she'd flirted with boys before, and gone on dates and what not, but that had sort of dropped off since she stepped into the limelight of the hierarchy. She had almost had a thing with her friend Stu, but...it was complicated. Very complicated. And she was human after all, and liked compliments just like the next girl.

"Well, thanks. Though I'm sure you'd rather not have to con me into it, yeah?"

She teased, referencing back to when they got off the bike. Truth be told he wasn't bad himself, in fact, she kind liked it. And by kinda she meant quite a bit. But she wasn't about to let him know that.

[Mathew Amtrum]

"Hmmm well it would be better if you initiated it yes, but there is a certain charm to conning it out of you. Mostly for fun though." He said with a small laugh. He was pleased at the slight blush on her cheeks. It was fascinating to see her act like a normal girl. She wasn't the first strong woman he had seduced and been with, but it was always amazing to see the real them. Normally they all put up this image of themselves, tough and strong. Confident, normally the type that didn't take any shit from men, but deep down they were still women. They had that teenage girl inside of them that wanted to be loved, that wanted to be noticed, and who hoped to god they were not having a bad hair day.

Mathew leaned in over the table, a sparkle in his eyes as he watched her across the table, he spoke in low tones, not wanting to carry the conversation over the whole room, it wasn't very big after all.

"Alright then, right here, right now. Not because I conned you, but because you want to kiss me." He said as he continued to lean forward, grinning. He was expecting her to kiss him, but if she didn't after a few moments he would pull back with a shrug.

[Olesya]

Of course Olesya was a girl. Certainly she was what could be considered a Tomboy, she didn't mind getting dirty (in fact she kinda liked it), she loved adventure, and bragged about the scrapes and bruises she got. She hated dresses, and only wore them when absolutely necessary (don't even mention heels, though she generally didn't need them because she was tall). It wasn't that she couldn't be feminine, but she had higher priorities besides what lip gloss matched which shoes and if she had a purse for every day of the week (in fact she didn't carry a purse at all). Gabri was the girly one, and if Les got the urge to dress up, she would simply take something from her sister's closet.

Needless to say though, she was just a girl deep down. Self-conscious, slightly insecure, she liked attention and compliments and attractive boys...she was just a little wiser about how she showed it. Except right now all her normal tricks seem to have flown out the window.

Les smirked, sticking her tongue out briefly at his comment. Sure, it wasn't the best table manners, but it got her point across. She wasn't really all that classy to begin with, and could probably get herself kicked out of a five star restaurant with ease (in fact she planned to try it someday). When he leaned in though, she felt her cheeks burn a little bit more as she we already leaning partly across the table. Did she want to kiss him? Well he certainly was attractive, though she knew a good amount of the female population thought the same thing. And what of his record? She'd heard quite a bit about the famous Mathew Amtrum, not just from Moral Crest, but from 259 as well. Did she honestly want to get tangled up in this?

What harm could it do?

But then she remembered that she was going to save all the mumbo-jumbo thinking for later, and just enjoy herself now. And with that she leaned in further to kiss him, capturing his lips with hers with more confidence than the last times. Nothing too passionate or attention-catching, after all they were in a public place, but a kiss none-the-less.

[Mathew Amtrum]

When their lips met Mathew's hand would raise up moving to her face, gently cupping it in his hand, his thumb stroking her cheek. He was pleased that she did kiss him, not because he conned her in to doing it, but because she wanted to kiss him. That in itself was an exciting feeling, he was used to girls wanting to kiss him, but not her. She wasn't normally the type that went seeking the adventure that came with Mathew, so this was a bit different for him. When the kiss broke he kept his lips close to hers, his nose rubbing against hers before his lips touched hers again, planting a smaller kiss on her lips before he pulled away.

"So, is this day turning out better then you expected?" He asked, though he was fairly confident in what the answer would be, most likely a blush and a yes. Or some kind of defiant answer, either way he would just grin and wink at her. He was a tease and he knew it, he was the perfect fling. Good looking, charming, very sexual, and romantic. Well romantic in the sense that he knew how to show a girl a good time, but he wasn't good with the long term game.

[Olesya]

If only she didn't like how he cupped her cheek in his hand when he kissed her. She needed to watch herself so she didn't lose her head. Olesya was too smart to fall for pretty faces and kind gestures, but it didn't mean she didn't like them. The second, smaller kiss surprised her, and a smirk tugged at the corner of her lips as they pulled away.

"Hm. I suppose."

Her eyes sparkled teasingly as the waiter brought out the food to their table, starting with some nan and drinks before asking what they would like for the main dish. Olesya contemplated her choices for a second before deciding on the chicken tiki masala. It was her favorite.

[Mathew Amtrum]

"I'll have the same as her." He said grinning, his eyes never leaving hers for a moment. This was an interesting turn of events, a month ago he never would have seen himself here, but then again he had been sure she hated him. Most Pillars did on general principle. After Blaze had hated him before they even met. Why expect any different from one he had fought.

That was a different place and time though. Now Mathew was the Pillar, Student Body President even. Unchallenged, something a bit unusual, but then again who could take him on? He couldn't think of many, and the ones he could name wouldn't beat him for sure. He was without a doubt an impressive fighter. Though recently, he had started to think that it wasn't enough to just be an impressive fighter. That maybe there was more to things. That had been the thought that made him want to make a council. And that council has lead him to where he was now, on this date with this girl. A girl that made him feel things he didn't want to feel. It excited him, but it also scared him. The idea of being vulnerable was a scary thought, the idea of pain was even more frightening. He was a man that spent a lot of effort to make sure nothing could hurt him. He didn't know what he would do if he allowed himself to feel pain, if he allowed her to get close enough to hurt him.

"I never knew you were such a wild one. I had pegged you to be more cautious then you appear to be. I mean, getting on a bike with me? Coming out to this part of the city. Kissing me." He said that last part with a very impish and wide grin. He was enjoying himself very much.

"I mean it wasn't that long ago that I am sure both of us would have seen the other as an enemy. I mean you were a Pillar with Blaze were you not? I assumed you saw the world the same way he did."

[Olesya]

Olesya laughed when he called her a wild one. She had always been less tame than her other two sisters, her father even joked once that it felt like they had two girls and two boys instead of 3 girls. It wasn't that she couldn't be calm and girly...she just didn't feel like it.

"Well, I like keeping things interesting, you know? I guess you could say I'm a bit on the wild side, but it goes to show how little you know about me."

She winked at him with a smirk. She really was enjoying her time out with him, and it surprised her because back in the correctional facility, she would have been glad to never see his Dragon Boy face again. But here she was having a nice meal with him and laughing and joking...and yeah, she'd actually kissed him. Kissed. Him. Not his games when they were fighting when he disoriented and headbutted her, but she kissed him because she wanted to. It was a confusing thought.

"Yeah, I was one of Blaze's pillars, but it doesn't mean we all share the same beliefs. I was chosen for VC because I cared about the school and its students. I guess you could say I'm passive when it comes to the school's well being, but I have zero tolerance for people who purposefully disrupt what little peace we have there."