thunder [private]

Subject: thunder [private] Tue May 21, 2013 3:04 am

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

The clear day was drawing to a close. Already halfway down, the sun brought about an orange tint to the surroundings that for a few moments, Taylor's red hair didn't look quite out of place in the lush atmosphere. But despite the warmth emanated by her surroundings, the daughter of Khione didn't return the feeling. Her blue eyes were hard, her brows slightly furrowed, and her lips were in a thin line. Quite a change in the usually cheerful disposition sported by Taylor Brooks.

With as much force she could muster, Taylor flicked a flat pebble to the lake. She watched the water ripple with every bounce, watched the stone sink down its depths. It wasn't even five seconds when another followed, bouncing less, submerging faster. Sighing, Taylor let the third pebble roll around her fingers, running her thumb across its smooth surface. Did she have nothing better to do than take her anger out on stones? Poor girl.

coded by sapphire

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Tue May 21, 2013 11:14 am

bad little boy

No one whom knew him could deny that, as of late, James had been acting better than he normally did, although why that was he wasn't sure. Maybe he was lightening up a bit, and it was about time because he had been pretty pissed off and angry with nearly everyone for the last few months. It was about time he deserved some piece, wasn't it, and he was just happy that summer was drawing closer. It was easier to relax when summer came, because more camper came form all over the world and just made the atmosphere complete. Nonetheless, right now, James was in a pretty good mood.

On the way back from eating, yet taking the long way back to his cabin, James ducked his tall head under a branch that stuck out and the only things he could hear was the nature crunching beneath his Nike sneakers and a sound of water moving. The further he walked forward, the stronger the sound became and soon James could see a figure standing in front of the water throwing pebbles aggressively into the normally-calm water. It took him a moment to recognize the girl, one of his grown eyebrows rising as he leant against one of the trees to his left, just a few metres or so out of sight of the girl. After enough time, he finally let his presence be known. "Hey, what did the water ever do to you?"

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Tue May 21, 2013 11:48 am

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

The familiar voice made Taylor jump, some of the remaining pebbles in her hand falling back to the ground. She found the source quickly enough. "Oh hey, James," she said, mashing her lips into a thin smile. She wasn't really mad at him - why would she be, anyway? - but so many things were getting on her nerves as of late. This damn amnesia nabbed the top spot. With everything going on, Taylor found it increasingly hard to keep her cool. Although she didn't know much about herself, she was quickly learning that she and anger didn't quite mix well.

"It was so... peaceful. Thought it'd be nice to disturb it," she said hollowly as she threw another stone. It didn't even skip now, sinking as soon as it touched the water. Sighing, Taylor turned back to James. He seemed to be in a good mood, or in at least feeling better than she was at the moment. Lucky guy. Taylor nodded approvingly at his now healed hand. "I see you're well."

coded by sapphire

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Tue May 21, 2013 12:15 pm

bad little boy

Nodding somewhat and watching the pebbles that fell form Taylor's hand even after they had settled, he stayed where he was and just continued to watch her, only a grin forming at one corner of his lips. "So you remember me this time then?" he asked, messing around but not really sue if she was going to actually take it as a joke or not. Most of James' jokes could be offensive, so she would just have to get used to it again.

The wind ruffling James' brown hair slightly, he was glad that he had a sweater on, even though most of his legs were exposed with his shorts. "Yeah, that's what I think when I see little kids with an ice-cream." The only thing is, most of the time this wasn't a joke. Once or twice in his life, James had literally hit an ice-cream out of a little kids hands just because he could be a jerk. Following the girl's gaze, James looked down at his left hand and nodded, bringing both of them together so he could click his fingers into place loudly, "Yeah, it's about time too. You still going? To the infirmary, I mean."

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Wed May 22, 2013 4:55 am

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

"Yeah I do, thank the gods," Taylor said, blowing off a strand of red hair that got into her face. She had heard of a type of amnesia that permanently destroys the brain's ability to retain information for a long period of time. Imagine running into your friends without even remembering that they were your friends. 'Who are you?' would be the most overused question ever. It didn't bring Taylor any consolation thinking about these things, considering she was lucky enough not to have them. Even if the whole thing could have been worse, Taylor knew that it could have also been so much better.

"Yeah, that's what I think when I see little kids with an ice-cream," James said, pulling out another half-hearted smile from her. He was probably kidding... right? Her momentary amusement vanished as soon as James mentioned the infirmary. With her forehead lined with creases, she harshly kicked one of the fallen pebbles to the lake.

"No, not anymore. They've given up. It's stupid, but what can you expect from a bunch of teenagers playing doctor?" Taylor sighed, watching the last of the ripples fade. "Well, on the plus side, I don't have to waste so much time on that anymore."

coded by sapphire

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Wed May 22, 2013 4:39 pm

bad little boy

Glad that he wouldn't have to go through explaining whom he was and stuff to her all over again, James just nodded with a little, "Good." before his eyes moved to the surface of the water instead. He tried not to think back at the things that had happen in the past with them both, because it got him a little frustrated, but it was hard not to. She couldn't seem to remember any of it, which was a good thing, but he could.

Finally seeing that the girl had really caught onto his attitude as to how he felt about most things in this camp, James just smiled a little wider. He only really went to the infirmary because he knew he was going to do an even worse job at mending himself than they would, which he had proven by actually doing such and putting his fingers in an even worse state than they had been. "That is so true." He told Taylor, although then raised an eyebrow, "so what else do you waste time on now?" He thought it was a valid question, seeing as he didn't think she could remember anybody to hang out with.

ooc; posts getting shorter oops and coincidentally paramore came on shuffle when i was writing this

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Thu May 23, 2013 1:29 am

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

Taylor snorted at James' comment. At least someone around here got her sentiments. Not that she was surprised that James would, remembering how he had been in the infirmary. His next question brought her up short though, pasting a slight scowl on her features. Well, that certainly reminded her of the second thing in the 'the-most-annoying-things-in-the-world-according-to-Taylor-Brooks' list. It was actually this close to knocking amnesia off the top spot, but ultimately Taylor decided that her amnesia was still the root of all evil.

"Training, you could say. Playing with ice and swords. I need to be prepared. They're sending me to the La - some weird place." She stared at her reflection, watched hesitation streak across her face. She might as well admit it. After all, what was there to lose? She had already lost everything. Tearing her gaze from the water, Taylor turned to James, her eyes glassy and her smile forced.

"They're sending me to the Labyrinth."

coded by sapphire

ooc: lol i think we do better with short posts. also i conclude that this topic is a paramore magnet <3

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Fri May 24, 2013 5:10 pm

bad little boy

An immediate interest perked James ears and he almost wanted to move closer out of curiosity, but he thought that the leaning-against-the-tree thing was much more mysterious. So he stayed where he was, his perfectly-plucked eyebrows raising up as he inspected Taylor and her hesitation. He didn't try and verbally guess what she would've said when she changed her mind, seeing as he would probably be there for a while. So he was just about to go on about him training; how he would probably do it as much as possible, even if he did have hidden strength in his appearance.

He he did shift a little in his place when Taylor revealed where she was going to be sent, seeing as that was a pretty big deal; especially for someone that was suffering from memory-loss. James would never really get the opportunity to do something like that; partly probably because he currently had a position in which he had to look after many others, but also because he wasn't great with working with others and it only took a small spark to enrage him. That wouldn't be something good to work with. Nonetheless, he made a long whistle to show he was impressed, studying the fake looking smile on her lips, "You're nervous then?" He guessed, "You'll be fine. Just don't get lost. Why are you going anyway?" His curiosity got the better of him, straightening a little.

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Sun May 26, 2013 8:17 am

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

Taylor was getting slightly irked by the short distance between them. It wasn't like they were yelling words at one other just to be heard, but she was getting quite tired of having to speak at a louder volume than usual. Throwing one last pebble at the lake, Taylor walked over at the same time James spoke. She came to a stop at a tree beside his, mirroring his position and putting half her weight on the trunk.

"I'm not nervous," she hissed a little too defensively, looking away. Getting thrown into an underground maze with people you don't know was a good enough reason to be nervous. Hell, she should be scared. Those two emotions would probably kick in when the severity of the situation was staring her in the face, but right now all she could register was anger. A lot of it. She was supposed to be looking for a way to get her memories back! Not shipped off to what was apparently a mission that a lot of people would consider suicide!

"Something about looking for lost demigods," she deadpanned. "The whole thing is so stupid that it's annoying. You know what happened to that Rodriguez guy, right? He lost his mind in that place! And now we're being sent to look for more nutcases who might not even be alive!"

Taylor took a deep breath after she finished, just realizing how loud and sharp her voice had become. Ashamed of her outburst, she avoided James' eyes for a while. This isn't his fault. When she spoke again, her voice was hushed, apologetic. "I didn't mean for that to get out." She finally looked back at him, 'sorry' written all over her face even if she couldn't get the actual word out. "I... I just want my memories back."

coded by sapphire

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Sat Jun 15, 2013 5:29 am

bad little boy

Raising his eyebrows and holding his hands up in a surrender motion, James thought that she did seem nervous about it, and it wasn't in his nature to keep his thoughts to himself, "Of course you're not." he implied sarcastically, his blue eyes flickering challengingly over at her as she took her new position before looking back ahead of him, trying to hide a smirk. He took pride in winding people up a lot of the time and that was probably one of the reasons why he didn't actually get on with a lot of people when he was being an asshole.

Everyone had heard about the Labyrinth; and that when you went in, you'd probably never come back out. "You sound like you're nervous." James shrugged his shoulders, just telling her, "Although, if you think about it this way, if you go in and do loose your mind, it won't really matter as much because it's not like you have a lot in that mind of yours right now...memory wise." he wasn't comforting her, but instead probably trying to wind her up a little more. He had mood swings, don't worry about him. "So, don't be so nervous."

Shrugging again, James took another look over at Taylor, accepting her not-so apology easily; he lost it a lot so he was fine with other people doing the same. "Don't worry about it." he brushed it off quickly, james not really caring, "What do you think is so great about you getting your memories back? How do you know that they weren't all good?" He tried not to seem knowing, although he wasn't sure if he was successful.

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Sun Jun 16, 2013 4:21 am

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

Taylor's head gave a little shake as she rolled her eyes. Whatever James said, she was not nervous. She wasn't. Taylor swallowed thickly. Maybe if she believed it enough, it would become the truth.

Her eyes narrowed into slits when she turned back to James. "Exactly. Let's throw the amnesiac girl in because she doesn't have anything to lose. So what if she loses her mind? Not like there's anything left in there to begin with." Her voice had taken a sharp edge, her words turning into icy knives. "You sound exactly like them. You people don't get it, do you? What it's like to have yourself taken away? What it feels to be gone... empty... not even knowing who you are."

She fixed James with a scrutinizing stare. How can he be so... nonchalant? He shrugged things off so easily that she wondered if he even cared at all. Was he really a friend of hers in the past? She could only take his word for it... well come to think of it, James never really mentioned much of their apparent friendship, besides him punching his brother for her and that manhole thing that happened in New York. She wasn't even convinced that a manhole was involved.

Taylor's eyebrows rose a trifle at what he said next. 'What was so great about having her memories back?' Did he seriously ask her that? "Well, I wouldn't know that, would I? Considering they're all gone," she hissed, folding her arms across her chest. His lack of concern was disconcerting. Almost like he was alright with her not remembering anything... Well, that couldn't be it... could it?

"You're not telling me something, are you?"

coded by sapphire

ooc: i can't help but reply okay

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Sun Jun 16, 2013 4:44 am

bad little boy

Anyone normal would probably be offended and hurt after the conversation he was currently having with Taylor, but honesty; James was used to having these types of conversations. A lot had changed for him over the last few months, and he had changed as a person, so he'd sort of adapted into this character that tried to brush everything off. Although he was more sensitive than he let on, so he would probably remember parts of the conversation later on, and then would most likely always be in the back of his mind.

Looking back over at Taylor to transfix his eyes and notice how she was looking at him and just gave her a pointed look; "No, we don't know what it's like. That's why they're throwing you in. They could throw you in, a person who doesn't have much to loose, or a kid who only has memories left to remember his family or something." James wasn't great at thinking logically, "It's a no-brainer really. If you really care about it that much, tell them you don't want to do it and let another kid go in instead." He didn't think she'd do that though, just wanting to prove his point, "Doesn't effect me."

Sticking his hands in his pockets, James couldn't help a laugh escaping his lips as the girl hissed at him, not being able to see how he always managed to press her buttons. He thought he was actually being quite pleasant at this moment, "I'm not telling you a lot of things. I could just feed you a bunch of lies and you wouldn't know any better." He considered doing that for a split second, but he wasn't that mean; he was quite nice, actually, behind all that...James.

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Sun Jun 16, 2013 5:17 am

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

Every word that came out of James' lips only seemed to fuel her anger more. Taylor exhaled sharply, trying to control herself. Of course, Taylor being Taylor, it did nothing to calm her down. She could feel the blood pulsing through her veins in a rush, pounding in a quick rhythm in her ears. Although it wasn't quite visible with the sunset, her face took on a reddish tinge as her eyes pierced the seemingly calm person before her. If her eyes were swords, he would be dead.

"No wonder you don't have friends," Taylor forced through gritted teeth. "You don't care about anyone other than yourself."

Through her clouded judgment she could see a little of his point, how she could easily let someone else take her place. Thing was, she did refuse point-blank when they offered her a job. In fact she had been walking away when she heard the off-handed comment, one of the campers smugly saying, 'told you she couldn't handle it.' That alone sent her stomping back against her will. She could not be viewed as a weakling. It was what she couldn't handle.

And now, in an intense staring contest with James, she briefly wondered what she looked like to him. Did he see her as a weakling? As someone not to be taken seriously?

But even with her thoughts and the seemingly cool manner James held himself, Taylor was able to stop herself from doing anything more than throw scathing words. At least, not until James stuck his hands in his pockets and said, "I'm not telling you a lot of things. I could just feed you a bunch of lies and you wouldn't know any better."

That was when she advanced, throwing a punch at his face.

coded by sapphire

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Sun Jun 16, 2013 5:49 am

bad little boy

Exhaling nosily and shifting his position against the tree a little bit, sickeningly amused by this conversation. He felt that he made sense and that his point was logical, although he knew that if he was in Taylor's position then he wouldn't want someone to say this to him either. Even though she didn't know him, he knew her; he knew that the only real way he would be able to get his point across was to point out the obvious, no matter if it was an asshole point or not. But he enjoyed getting her temper going. It just fueled his enjoyment.

Letting out a whistle, James winced slightly, although just as soon as it had flickered across his face it had gone and he was trying to pretend it had never got to him. Running a hand through his hair, he shrugged once more, which was something he seemed to be doing a lot in this conversation, "Ouch. Low blow, Taylor, even for you." He considered it for a moment, twisting his lips to the side and frowning, "Yeah, I do only think about myself. Then again, I did take a leaf out of your book."

James had never understood his relationship with Taylor; it had been filled with arguing and fighting and sometimes laughter and scattered with kissing. He was pretty glad that she couldn't remember any of that though, seeing as if was like a fresh start for him. They hadn't really gotten on before she lost her memories, and he was trying to restart that. He liked knowing things that she didn't; he held the advantage point, and staring at Taylor just emphasized how happy he was that he did hold the advantage.

Just as James thought she was going to hurl back at him with another harsh remark, he saw her fist aimed for him, reacting a little too slow and felt her fist barrel in his jaw. he had been in a pretty good mood until she did that, moving so fast then that his hand grabbed her and had tightened around her wrist so tight that he was seriously considering breaking it. No one punched him and got away with it, and his eyes turned into ice practically and he held her in a vice grip, his face so close to hers that it would be a shock if she wasn't intimidated by the Ares boy. He wiggled his way from side to side, knowing he was going to have a bruise there later, "You do anything like that again," he growled, his 'pleasant' expression already having disappeared, "and I will not hesitate in snapping your neck. Got it?"

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Sun Jun 16, 2013 6:28 am

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

Taylor barely had time to enjoy the 'crack' that followed when her fist connected with James' cheek. He moved so fast, fingers clamping on her wrist so hard that she was unable to stop the high-pitched cry from escaping her lips. James was stronger than she had initially thought. She could barely feel her hand now, as if his grip had actually stopped the blood flow. Then there was also the fact that James was inches away from her face, all lines of pleasantry forgotten. Taylor would have been an idiot not to notice the growing tension in the air. She had flown past the invisible line and got the son of Ares mad. That much was clear.

But it still didn't change the fact that her anger was also flowing. It was enough to keep her face straight, although she was now biting her tongue to distract herself from the ache on her wrist. Her sharp eyes determinedly met his, not backing down.

'Yeah, I do only think about myself,' he had said. 'Then again, I did take a leaf out of your book.' The cleverly-masked insult hit her like a kick in the gut and it stung, almost matching the physical pain. And yet, all she could do was glare him down without saying anything. Taylor had come to a conclusion, a harsh one at that. Something had happened between them before. She didn't know exactly what, and she was surprised to find that a small part of her didn't want to know the specifics. Emphasis on small.

The silence went on for a few more seconds before Taylor could finally unravel her tongue. "What's stopping you from doing it now? Apparently, it's not like I have anything to lose."

coded by sapphire

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Sun Jun 16, 2013 6:53 am

bad little boy

Whether James was smart or stupid to be holding Taylor in such a tight grip was debatable, but his anger with rippling behind his eyes and inside him and he was really struggling not to lose it - because this really wasn't losing it; this was just how he reacted with he was annoyed. If she was anyone else, or a boy, James probably would've pushed them in the lake by now. He had a mean temper as of late, and he normally lost it completely when he was angry.

Which certainly explained how he had technically killed someone.

But he tried to calm and control himself, still staring with brutal eyes at the girl in front of him, as he knew he was going to regret if he did actually do something like snap her neck (he wasn't even sure if he would be able to bring himself to do that, but he didn't want to test himself). "I should; it would save a lot of people annoyance." He answered, staying still for a moment before pushing her back in one abrupt shove, finally releasing his steel grip on her and moving his hand up to rub the side of his face. The muscles in his jaw clenched and relaxed and fluttered, trying to use pointless breathing exercises. He should've left it and walked away or something, but he couldn't help himself from exploding then, a foul look on his face.

"You've hardly changed at all, have you?" He sneered, trying to get to her, "You're still a little-" oops bad word "-and if you think i'm going to help you get your crap memories and bull life back, then you've got another thing coming. You haven't seen you boyfriend since you lost them, have you? He's probably glad that he doesn't have to deal with you anymore and has gone off with some other girl. Calm blame him; I'd probably have done the same if I had been stuck with you."

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Sun Jun 16, 2013 7:55 am

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

Taylor very nearly lost her footing when James pushed her back. She steadied herself quickly, retreating a few steps away from him while gingerly rubbing her wrist. His fingers left a trail of red marks from when he exerted too much force. It wouldn't be long before it turned black and blue. Taylor flexed her fingers as the feeling went back to her hand but she did this only half-heartedly, her attention once again back to the explosion before her.

Whatever Taylor expected, it wasn't this. She was caught off-guard, shock replacing the anger that had now taken the back seat in her mind. Her chest suddenly felt too tight. How could she feel this affected? Why did it feel like being hit by a ton of bricks? It wasn't like James hit her or anything, and yet, the pain coming from her wrist seemed laughable in comparison. Whoever said that sticks and stones hurt more than words was wrong. They had never been in the receiving end of something like this. Taylor took a deep breath, actually trying hard to make the effort. She was still in shock. She could feel her eyes growing hot and itchy but she forced the feeling back. She was not going to cry. She was not going to give James the satisfaction of knowing that his words hit home.

He's lying, she tried to tell herself. He said it himself, he can feed you lies and you wouldn't know any better...

But what Taylor couldn't deny was that the pieces fit together. If ever she had a boyfriend before, he sure did a damn good job hiding now. And since she came back, all she would do was try to know as much about herself as she can, asking anyone, even forcing... If she had friends before, they didn't show much of themselves now, and she had been too busy training to realize that. And now that she did, well, needless to say it didn't make her feel any better.

Taylor opened her mouth to speak but closed it just as quickly, realizing that she had nothing to say. Her throat ran dry and all the emotions running amok inside of her clogged her mind. Averting her gaze, Taylor instead brought her gaze down to her hands. The skin was beginning to turn darker, as she had predicted, but it wasn't enough to completely distract her from her thoughts. She felt hurt, beyond hurt maybe, because she realized that she was really alone. That James was right all along.

coded by sapphire

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Sun Jun 16, 2013 8:38 am

bad little boy

James just stared at Taylor after he was done, wondering whether he had done the right thing. He was a sensitive soul really, although no one bothered to see that; words affected him more than anyone would ever be able to believe, and thus the reason in which he had created a shell for himself. But when people always got in, it was like another crack at his sanity, and he became more on edge; like a wire that was easier to break, or trying to balance on a thinner tightrope. Taylor had gotten past both the physical and emotional layer, it seemed, and it had been enough to make him flip.

Glancing down at the marks on her wrist, it was almost enough to makes James feel guilty and wish to apologize, but not quite; she had brought it on herself, after all, and she was punched him first. She was lucky that he hadn't given her the same treatment, but he wasn't that much of an asshole. His gaze stayed fixed on her for a little longer, almost wanting to make sure that she wasn't going to attack him again or something, but didn't think she would; she looked deep in thought and James knew that if someone had said that to him, he'd be deep in thought too.

Turning a little so his back was facing her, James took the opportunity to rub the side of his face and compose his features a little, almost wanting to walk away. he should walk away, seeing as he was probably going to flip out again if he just stayed, but something in his gut made him stay where he was. Was it remorse? he wasn't even sure if he could still feel any emotion other than anger, seeing as most of his mind was numb these days. He reached down to lift up a pebble in his hands for a moment, rolling it in both of his palms and running his thumb across one face of it. he needed a distraction, whatever form that may be in.

Firing the pebble suddenly at one of the trees a couple of metres away, he turned to look at Taylor once more, watching her with a scrutinizing expression. "Look," He started, his voice seeming monotone in comparison to how aggressive it had been before, "If you want your memories back, maybe you should try and befriend the people that can actually help you, instead of punch them in the face."

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Sun Jun 16, 2013 9:41 am

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

Taylor gave a little start when James finally spoke. She was sure that he was going to leave, maybe she had been hoping even, because some part of her wanted to be alone after that little outburst. She couldn't find the strength to do it herself though. Her feet were too firmly rooted to the ground, or at least they felt that way. Nevertheless, she was quite relieved to hear that he wasn't as aggressive as before.

Taylor's eyes snapped to the pebble he had thrown and stayed there. They still felt a little watery, her eyes, although not enough to form tears. She was thankful for that. Gods know how embarrassing it would be if she was crying like an idiot by now. It comforted her to think that she still had some semblance of self-control left. Tears spoke of vulnerability and weakness - the two things that Taylor didn't want to associate herself with. She was tough and strong and she wanted people to view her as such. Anything that proved the contrary, like crying, had no place in Taylor's book. Maybe that was why she picked fights if she was angry instead of quietly walking away. For her, fighting meant she wasn't backing down. The other option equaled giving up.

Wincing as she accidentally rubbed a little too hard on the forming bruise, Taylor shrugged. "Yeah well..." she bit down on her lip to cut herself off. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to voice her thoughts. Look where they got her. She sighed, letting her hands fall back to her sides. "Look, I'll just go back to my cabin. Don't want to risk punching you again."

She still couldn't quite get it out of her mind, what James said earlier, and it just kept clawing at her like crazy. They may have hit hard enough to land a permanent spot in her head. Funny really, how it took anger to get a point across. Taylor's stubbornness wouldn't have settled for anything less. A hollow half-smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she glanced at James, giving him a slight nod before finally willing her feet to move.

coded by sapphire

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Sun Jun 16, 2013 12:05 pm

bad little boy

James was quite disappointed with what had happened; he had kept up this good attitude for the past few days and now it had been ripped away from this petty events with Taylor. He knew he wasn't going to cheer up again for a good few days, and he dare say that he had actually missed getting on with people and not at their throats all the time. He almost wanted to leave and be done with trying to get on with this girl, but he knew that it would get him nowhere after all. He would always see her again somewhere down the line, he had realized, and he didn't always want it to be a aggressive encounter.

But he could see how much he had upset the girl across from him, and even though he told himself that she had brought it on herself, the guilt started to nag a little more violently inside him. Things inside James had broken those few months ago, with what had happened and all the stress he had been put into, and now they were starting to come back together but not all of the pieces had been put into the right place. Now he was actually on the verge of getting them back together in the right places, and the before-James wouldn't have just walked away even if the same thing had happened. After all these months, he was actually starting to get back to becoming to before-James and not the after-James.

Running both of his hands through his brown hair so he didn't flop into his bruising face, James shuffled on the balls of his feet for a moment before exhaling deeply, catching sight of the damage he had done to Taylor's wrist. he bit the inside of his cheek for a brief moment, wondering if she actually deserved this, before getting out, "What do you want to know?" he asked, although there was still a level of anger to his tone. He figured that if he told her one thing, just one thing, then they would be even; all the things they held over each-other would be cancelled out. He held up an index finger and signalled one, folding his arms as he did so, "I'll answer one question and we call it quits. Deal?" James thought he was being generous himself, seeing as he could just as easily turn around and walk away and not tell her anything.

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Sun Jun 16, 2013 12:40 pm

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

Taylor had already turned away when James spoke, once again freezing her into place. She half-turned her head to look at him, unsure if she'd heard right. He was still angry, no doubt about that, and yet he was still offering her this chance. And the first question that actually occurred to her was: why?

Taylor sighed and faced him fully. She had expected him to walk away like she planned to. She studied the tense lines on his face and knew that he was pretty much tired of this charade. Why would he want to keep it going? Maybe they could just leave each other alone. Recent events proved that things turned nasty when they got at each others' throats and frankly enough, it looked like they were better off without the extra stress. What did Taylor expect to do though, avoid him afterwards? They lived in the same camp. They were bound to run into each other at some point. Perhaps James was thinking of that. Maybe he just wanted to leave in better terms than just storming off.

And now he was giving her a chance. One question. Just one. And that alone put her in another dilemma.

She could ask about New York. About the guy who seemed to be her boyfriend. Perhaps they were linked, she could ask about that too. But then there was another pressing matter, James himself. What happened between them? So many questions then filled her mind and she closed her eyes in an effort to make the choosing easier. It didn't help much.

When Taylor opened her eyes a fraction, she caught sight of the bruise on her wrist. Hadn't he just threatened to kill her if she put another toe out of line? She wasn't entirely sure if he was serious, but if he was, what would have motivated him to do so? Weren't they friends? Or were they really?

Taylor's eyes squeezed shut once more. One question. She might as well push her luck. Exhaling sharply, Taylor fixed James with an emotionless look.

"Who was I to you?"

Where did we stand?

coded by sapphire

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Sun Jun 16, 2013 5:20 pm

hollowed out and filled up with hate

The sixteen year old watched Taylor for another while, wondering what she was thinking yet knowing that he probably wouldn't be able to guess, seeing as he had never been able to get in her head properly. His earlier words had returned to his mind, and he wondered if she was thinking about them too, just wanting to clarify before he asked her anything, "I'll be honest." He assured, sucking in on his lower lip. She was taking her time, which was understandable, yet James wasn't the most patient person around so he really struggled not to blurt out for her to hurry up already.

But when she had asked her single question, James shook his head at himself a little and was surprised at himself for not having guessed that she would ask something difficult to begin with. He didn't know how to answer a question like that himself, and he thought that her losing her memory gave him the chance to ignore all of that and move on. But he had promised that he was going to be honest to her, and no matter how much he could be an arsehole, James really stood by his promises. He was insanely old-fashioned in that manner.

But instead of answering straight away, James vaulted at the tree that was a few feet to his right, his legs pushing himself up and using his muscles so he could perch on one of the branches that were extending out, his feet left dangling at about the height of where his head had been if he was standing. he thought that it didn't only make him more relaxed a little down here, but he figured that it would be harder for another outbreak between him and Taylor to happen if he was perched up here and she was still down there. He just stared down at her, the trunk of the tree blocking the wind so he was glad that his hair wasn't blowing around and getting messy.

"I meant something easier, but okay." He told her, rubbing his cheek with his fingers as he thought, wondering if there was a visible bruise yet, "Uh, so...we got on okay. Well, we used to fight a lot. And argue. Like, a lot. Like now really." He chuckled a little, although was really just trying to gather his thoughts better instead of rambling like he was now, "But you were my friend, in a weird way, and I sort-of liked you at one point." He was going about this in an awkward way, but really he was just becoming a little more casual, if that was even possible considering he was still pissed, "and we kissed a few times, in between the arguing of course, but then you and your boyfriend went off together and...it's actually pretty hard to explain this all without talking about New-...without mentioning certain things, but stuff happened and we fell out and we didn't really talk much after that." He shrugged, looking out above him at the canopy. "Going back to your question...I'm not even sure myself. That's probably not the answer you were looking for but screw it."

ooc; that one lyric line literally just represents james

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Sun Jun 16, 2013 9:01 pm

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

Taylor watched James perch himself on a branch before answering. Shifting uncomfortably, she wondered why he'd do that. Probably not risking it, she thought, remembering the punch. But maybe it made things easier, that being up there made him comfortable enough to speak. Taylor wasn't sure at first if she had asked an easy question and judging from the look on his face, she could tell that she hadn't.

She stayed there on the ground as she listened, looking at the lake instead of him. Her eyes saw something else though. She and James fighting and arguing like he'd said, and that wasn't hard to imagine. They'd been doing the exact same thing just moments ago. But them kissing... her brows furrowed slightly, wondering how on earth that happened in-between fights. She couldn't factor that into the equation. Then she saw herself drifting away with a faceless guy and the image didn't quite feel right... Had she been sneaking behind her boyfriend's back? The thought wasn't comforting, to say the least. In fact, she could feel the guilt creeping in, which was strange considering that all she could do was take James' word for it. But he had promised he would be honest and for some reason, Taylor trusted him.

Taylor still wasn't looking at him when he finished. She took a few more moments of silence to process everything, trying to piece things together in her mind. It left a lot of gaping holes, a.k.a. the certain things like New York, but she could live with that. James had given her more than she expected. She thought he was just going to say 'we were friends' (a little part of her had even wondered if he was going to say they were exes) and be done with it, and she was somewhat glad to know that she was wrong.

A dull ache came from her wrist but it felt faraway now, so much like the charged emotions that disappeared. The anger was no longer present, well maybe in little amounts that were easily overpowered by other emotions. Taylor wasn't quite sure what she was feeling now, everything mixing in into some sort of numbness. One thing was sure though, that she was grateful.

"It wasn't, but you gave me more than what I bargained for. I... I didn't know it was that complicated. To be honest I thought you were going to say I was your ex or something," she chuckled slightly, trying for a lighter atmosphere. "Thank you. Maybe I can't stress that enough but I appreciate it. Really."

coded by sapphire

ooc: i told myself i was gonna post next weekend but screw it

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Mon Jun 17, 2013 5:38 pm

hollowed out and filled up with hate

Smacking at his lips and sucking on the inside of his cheek, James was pretty much just glad that he had got that over and done with, staring down at Taylor and awaiting her reaction. And when she did react, she seemed a little relieved and shocked by it all. James suddenly felt a little better, because he could see that he had helped this girl and that sort of made him think that he wouldn't be punished so much in the afterlife or whatever, but he still felt annoyed because she had punched him and in return he had helped her. That didn't really seem fair, according to his logic, but there wasn't really much you could do about it. He was a better person than he let in most if the time, and people were just quick to judge.

Swinging his legs back and forth beneath him a little more, James i haled and exhaled a little deeply, trying to fight the urge to just sing around on the branch he was sat on so he could hang upside down, but he didn't think that that was good for the serious situation that they were in. It seemed to be lighting up though, from both of their attempts, although they wouldn't make James stick around any longer; he would finish talking to her about her question and be off, before something bad happened again and they left on bad ground. James didn't really want that, to be quite honest.

Raising both of his brown eyebrows, the corner of James' mouth twitched up slightly, amused, "Yeah, it was pretty complicated. That's why I didn't really want to remind you of it, but you asked so. I think you'd actually have been pretty proud to have me as an ex. It shows that you used to have high standards." The twitch turned into it's usual smirk, "Don't worry about it, ice queen. I think I'd want someone to tell me something like that if I were you. It normal, I think. But if you ever punch me again, I will not be so nice next time. Got it?"

ooc; this would be longer if i wasn't so tired sorry.

Subject: Re: thunder [private] Fri Jun 28, 2013 2:29 am

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

A soft half-hearted laugh slipped out of Taylor's lips. "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind."

The atmosphere still felt off despite their attempts to lighten it. She couldn't help but feel resentful... but she really didn't know who to direct her emotions to. Both of them were at fault here, but whose fault was greater? Who had a better right to demand for an apology? Not that it would mean much anyway; Taylor already gathered that she and James shared something in common - the stubborn refusal to apologize.

There was really no point to hang around. James had kept his word and it would be unwise to push him further. And besides, Taylor just wanted to be alone. Her inner self wavered, still subjected to the outburst from earlier. Who knew how much words could sting? That they were not bees, but rather hornets repeatedly attacking her inside? Carving out room for doubt... fear, even...

Taylor clutched her head with one hand, her fingers scraping her scalp and even pulling on her hair. How could she let herself get this affected?

"I should go," she said, meeting his eyes for what possibly was the last time today. She wasn't really mad anymore - well, only a little. Just tired. There was something else too, like the fact that he gave her a lot to think about, so many things to fill up her nearly empty brain. She stuffed both hands in the front pocket of her hoodie and shrugged, her shoulders feeling heavier than they should. She had already taken a few steps backward when she spoke, "Uh, it was nice talking to you again. Even with the stuff that happened. Thanks."

Taylor didn't wait for his reply. With a tight smile she walked away, the ghosts of his words still haunting her mind.

coded by sapphire

ooc: do you want to start the next topic? c:

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