Main

Eric

Kailey

Side

Kai's family

Lisa Adair

(Can't remember Kai's Father's name)

Rebecca

Maternal side

Aunt Rachel - Lisa's younger sister

Uncle Christopher - Rachel's husband

Evan - Lisa's younger brother

Sarah - Evan's wife

Molly - Lisa's mother

Casper - Lisa's father

Paternal side

Aunt Bethany - Michael's older sister

Uncle Adam - Bethany's husband

Jonathan - Michael's younger brother

Eric's family

Mr. Godfrey

Mrs. Godfrey

Friends

Anna

Mary

Kyle

Name

Kailey (Kai) Michael Adair

Gender

Female

Age

12 years

Birthdate March, 14, 2000

Appearance

She is approximately 5’ 3” and weigh 110 pounds, but she may have an inch left in her. She has a curvy hourglass figure, and she has a longer leg to torso ratio. She has a medium bust, and she has rounded legs and hips. She is pretty slim and fit. There is no obvious excess fat. She diets and exercises to keep her body and mind in tip top shape. Her hands and feet are small and delicate appearing.

Think hawaiian. She has dark brown waist length hair. It has little waves in it. It is smooth, healthy, and shiny. It frames her small delicate round shaped face. Her face is rounder than average, and she has a small wide flat nose. She has a small sprinkle of freckles across her nose. Many times she prefers to leave her hair down, so that it softly frames her face. Sometimes she has small strands in the front of her face pulled back and tied in the back or those strands are braided and pulled back. She prefers hairstyles that keep her hair down. When she is excerising or there is hot whether it is more common for her to braid her hair or put it in a pony tail.

She has medium lips, and a small dainty nose. She has dark brown eyes, and medium eyelashes. She has slightly darker colored arching eyebrows, which are shaped to be neat, but still appear natural. Her eyes are large and round, giving her an innocent appearance. Her eyelashes are thick and long.

She has obvious smile lines, because it is a common facial expression for her. Her features give her a happy impish appearance. Her lips are full and a light pink color. They often curve up slightly as if in a hidden smile. Her cheeks are a healthy rosy hue. Her skin is smooth and wrinkle free, and her face has a few spots of acne every now and then.

Commonly, she wears anything casual: sweatshirts, exercise clothing, t-shirts, jeans etc. Every now and then she likes to wear dresses or skirts or dress up nicer. She wears multiple types of shoes. Sandals, flip flips, boots, tenis shoes. She prefers to wear shorts, and t-shirts or dresses and skirts without leggings.

Personality

Ambitious, smart, empathetic, kind, sweet

She is very nice and sweet. She is a little slow, and takes a while to take hints. She is easily peer pressured and she likes to follow the group. At the same time she is a very calm, gentle and steady person. She can be a very loud person. She has a repuation for being curious. At first she can appear quiet, timid and shy. Once she becomes comfortable she is talkative and bold. She can be a weird goofball. She is super random and she is brutally honest. She hardly ever means to be mean, but her filter is limited. She likes to eat, and she is protective.

Things come out of her mouth, and often they aren't true, they are rude, or they are plain confusing. She isn't very eloquent, or succint, and she uses filler words a lot. She often says the first thing that comes to mind, and she is super awkward. She is known for randomly laughing so hard, and she can't stop. She can be on the quiet shy side. She likes having friends, but she has a hard time making new ones. She can totally miss social queues, and she often doesn't get jokes.

While she sometimes doesn't have very big ambitions, she wants to be the best. She is generally ready with a smile on her lips. She tries to encourage and lift those who feel sad. She tends to be quiet, and totally oblivious. She has a vivid imagination and feels sympathy easier. She doesn't like to see anyone hurt when she could help, so she is known for her caring spirit. She has a kind easy going personality, and she attracts people with her charisma and appearance.

She often is quiet, but she knows when to reach out to others. She is very empathetic. She can be very emotional, and it is easy to make her cry. She goes out of her way to help others even though she doesn't always go about it the right way. She is a tough girl physically and emotionally even though it's easy to make her cry. She doesn't mind pain too much, and she lets insults blow right over her. Even so she isn't super confident, and doesn't like branching out of her comfort zone. She will happily talk to anyone who talks to her first, but she doesn't like making the first move.

update:

She has become more relaxed in some ways, and she is a bit of a light flirt.

(M'kay. My inspiration flew out of the window.)

Goals

Top half of the class

(valedictorian not important, but preferred.)

Have a decent social life.

Family

Rebecca - Sister - alive - 4 years older

Lisa - Mother - Alive Secretary

Michael - Father - Alive lawyer

Friends

Anna

Mary

Jack

Strengths/Weaknesses

She has stamina and more strength than you would expect.

She is pretty easy going and charismatic.

Other

Running - She is part of cross country and track.

She only has one eye, because of retinoblastoma, so she has some depth perception problems. Luckily, her eye is dark, so they can easily make a prostesis which matches her eye unlike some patients. Depth perception is one of the reasons she runs instead of ball sports. If someone is really observant, they'll notice her left eye doesn't move as much.

Deathly afraid of balls

She gets hit a lot, because she runs into things, so she has a high pain tolerance.

She is adopted, and is mostly pacific islander ethnicity.

She is good at math, but she isn't good at science. She is artistic and likes to draw and write.

Her cats:
Perry P. Plum, Toby Opossum, Ms. Regina, and Polly

Name

Eric Godfrey

Age

Beginning

13 - 18 years old

Main story

21+

Birthday

7/1/1999

Sexuality

Heterosexual

Race/Ethnicity

English American

Appearance

Eric is a tall young man, standing in at around 6 ft, 2 inches, his chest fairly broad and his body lean, fit, and defined. His hair is dark brown and wavy, long enough to where it is on the verge of looking like he needs a haircut, but nowhere near classified as long. It is always neatly combed to the side, the sides of his head shaved a little shorter than the top. When the sunlight hits it just right, dark amber and gold glints can be seen shimmering within.

His skin is fair, but not pale, lightly sun-kissed and warm to the touch almost always.

His eyes are decently large, and bright icy blue in color, although sometimes in the right lighting they may look silver or lavender. His face is defined and narrow, his cheekbones high and chiseled almost perfectly. His cheeks are slightly blushed, and light freckles dust in a light spray along the bridge of his nose, cheeks, shoulders, and chest.

Eric can be seen most often in a black T-shirt or tank top with a hoodie or some sort of jacket over it. He tends to wear the more low cut T-shirts, not because he is trying to appear "hot" but just because it is more comfortable for him. Leather jackets, jean jackets, and any sort of hoodie are his style, and even in hot weather he most always seems to wear them. He can almost always be seen in jeans, skinny or regular, with the occassional relax chill day when he wears shorts. Tennis shoes are a must, although he most often wears Converse.

On his back he sports a full scene tattoo design, incooperating a mother wolf and her pup touching noses, a border of roses shaped like a heart around them, and a night sky with a full moon. He keeps it hidden from most, but on the rare occassion anyone can catch a glimpse of him shirtless, it is obvious and bold.

A thin silver chain necklace can always be seen glittering around his neck, with a small circle pendant resting against his chest. It is a gift from his mother, who passed away his first year of highschool, and it is something he carries with him at all times.

On his face small cuts and old scars can be seen scattered on his cheekbones and above his eyes, the same can be said for his knuckles. His chest and back are also covered in old scars and sometimes fresh bruises, the result of dark goings on at home. Sometimes one or two rings can be seen on his fingers, but not very often, the same can be said for a silver piercing in his left ear.

Personality

Eric is a quiet and reserved person who rarely speaks to anyone unless spoken to. When he does speak, a very faint English accent can be heard rolling off of his tongue, due to his mother being from London. Eric's voice is often quiet, and lays between being deep and high. It isn't feminine by any means, but not quite as deep as some men, often aiding him in his gentle nature.

He is shy and quiet, and often slacks on school work. Despite this, he is into fitness and sports, and is a valuable member on the basketball team. He enjoys almost any physical activity, even just walking around the park or around town, anything to get him away from his home life. Because he is so quiet, he doesn't have many friends other than those on the basketball team, but even they can't consider themselves anything more than teamates. He spends a lot of time on his own, whether it be exercising, reading, writing, or even drawing.

Eric is a soft soul that no one really has taken the chance to get to know. He looks depressed and some say a bit scary on the outside due to his constant solemn facial expression, but those who would take the chance to know him would soon come to realize that he is just misunderstood and depressed only because of home life. He is quite a sweet and loving person who wants to enjoy company of others his age. Once a friend is made, he is loyal to the end and will always do his best to further the relationship. He is VERY protective over those he loves, and will do almost anything to keep them safe.

Eric is a huge animal lover, and spends as much time with his dog as he can, taking him almost everywhere he can with him. He loves nature, and enjoys time outdoors although if in a peaceful place loves time inside as well.

He wishes to one day find someone who loves him for him and can help him through anything he needs, and he wishes to do the same and be that person for someone else.

Goals

-To get through highschool

-Go to college for at least 2 years

-One day find a lover

-Start a family

Family

Mother - Rose Godfrey (Originally from London) - Alive (Very beginning) Deceased (Rest of story)

Father - David Godfrey (American) - Alive

Younger brother - Joshua Godfrey - Deceased

Older sister - Summer Godfrey - Alive

Friends

Kailey Adair (Best friend/future lover)

Kyle Taylor (Closest friend on the team)

Strengths/Weaknesses

-Physical strength and physical beauty, highly intelligent, very kind, soft-spoken, gentle nature, high determination in times of need

-Lack of social skills, not confident in himself, struggles with depression and anxiety, stutters more than he would like when nervous

Other Facts

Hobbies - Reading, Drawing, Writing, Singing, Exercising/Spending time outdoors

Pets - Gunner (GSD)

Favorite Style of Music - Almost anything

"Mum...mum. Please you can stop this now," she wriggled, as her mother tried to get the last few tangles out of her messy hair. It was still slightly damp from being sweaty.

"I wish you hadn't gone for your run. Your pony tail didn't help keep your hair from tangling," she muttered, "You know, I do care for you, and I only want to help you make a good first impression."

"Mum. I know that you don't need to try out for cross country, but I want to do well." Her devious eyes spotted her sister enter the main room of the house where the kitchen, and living room converged, "Why don't you go help Rebecca?" she tried to attract her attention somewhere else. Her sister was dressed in clothing, which was a trendy style and color, and she was very put together. It didn't look like she needed any help.

"Kai darling, you should have taken a shower. You don't want to be stinky for your first day here, do you?" her mother sounded annoyed. She ignored her daughter's attempts to divert her efforts.

"No," her voice was meek surrendering. "I didn't think about it." Her eyes brightened, "There is the school bus. I had better be going." Now she would finally escape.

As she darted for the door, her mother shook her head dismayed at her daughter's wrinkled jean shorts and t-shirt. At least she was wearing her nicer tennis shoes. Her mother's eyes widened, as she noticed the backpack, and lunch box sitting on the counter. Hopefully, she had packed her books the night before like she had instructed her to, because she was going ot have to try to run these out to her. It was her first day at a new place on the first day of school. As she ran out, Kai was running back, because she had realized what she had happened. She grabbed the backpack without arranging it properly on her shoulder, because the bus was about to go on.

She could see a few people on her side of the bus begin to stare. Even though it was early, and most of them were probably still half asleep, this had garnered their interest. Kai realized that no one was in hearing range, because her mother was watching her from the doorway, as she sprinted toward the bus. It was really tempting to curse, but her mother was quite strict on that, so she didn't indulge herself. Kai would keep running until the next bus stop hoping she would make it. If not, her mother would drive her to school.

Luckily, the bus let her squeeze in through the doors, and she hurried to find a seat, as the bus began to go. Apparently, this was the last stop before they headed to school. Most of the bus was filled. She was nervous now, because she would have to sit by someone she didn't know. They might not like her. Hopefully, the show she had given everyone would cause them to treat her a little more kindly, even though from her experience, someone would probably ridicule her. Surprisingly, no one looked at her, as she wafted around looking for a seat. They ignored her entirely.

She found there was one seat left, second to last from the back. Just her luck. A boy was sitting there. At her old school, while she had maybe one guy friend, most of them treated sitting by a girl similar to sitting by someone who was seriously contagious. A few of the more obnoxious kids would start singing songs about them being together, and made the whole experience very uncomfortable. Kai didn't let it bother her too much, even if she was annoyed, but the boys acted like it was the end of the world, and they moved as soon as possible.

When the girls were being ornery, they made most of the guys sit by at least one girl. It was even worse, when a teacher assigned a boy and a girl together. Sometimes it took longer for things to get accomplished, so it normally only happened as a last resort. She didn't want to start out her first day with that reaction in her mouth, but there was nowhere else with space. She hated to ask him, and she had hoped that he would invite her to sit, or at the very least move his stuff, which was all of the invitation she needed. She could see the bus driver getting impatient. She would have to move quickly.

"May I sit here?" she plopped herself down, and shoved his stuff to the side. She accidentally sat on his leg for a moment, because she had misjudged the distance. Instantly, she hopped back up. Once he moved, she sat back down again. "Sorry. There wasn't anywhere else. My name is Kai, or you can call me Kailey. You are?" she waited for an answer. Even if he was one of those super quiet kids, she thought she deserved a few one word answers. Even the quiet kids could manage those.

She ignored him for a few minutes, as she double checked her book bag, to maek sure she had everything she needed. "Oh uh. I forgot pencils. Crap," she cursed under her breath. What an elementary thing to forget? It was one of the things that annoyed teachers the most, because it was something each class would require. She checked her lunch box, and was glad to see that she would have something to eat. Her eyes widened, and she slapped her face with a disgusted hand. "My water bottle," she moaned. She had no money, and peanut butter and jelly made her thirsty.

For some reason, she had a hard time remembering to fix it in the morning, and she could imagine it, in a nice drawer. "Man! I need to finish unpacking, so I can find stuff," she sighed, muttering to herself in a low voice. After gathering herself, so that she could behave normally, she turned to him with a grin, "How are you?" Hopefully, she would become more organized, once she got into the routine. "I know I forgot half of the things the teachers told us to bring, but that's the way I roll," she sighed. She wasn't sure why she was talking to him. Perhaps, so she didn't seem as crazy if she talked outloud to herself. "How long have you been going to school here?"

"Come on sweetheart, hurry up. You'll be late." Rose said gently to her son, walking swiftly around the kitchen, busying herself with washing the dishes and putting them up to dry. Eric nodded, shoveling the rest of his breakfast into his mouth before guzzling the glass of milk in front of him. He wiped his mouth with his forearm, hurriedly picking up his dishes and setting them gently in the sink for his mother.

"Oh come now," she said to him, giving him a small and slightly disappointed smile. "You couldn't have even combed your hair?" She reached up, for he was already as tall as her, running her fingers lightly through his mess of wavy dark hair, prompting him to close his eyes and chuckle before taking her arm and pushing it playfully away.

"No, mum." he answered, grinning. "Didn't have time." Rose scoffed lightly, her blue eyes glimmering with love and playfulness. But hidden deep within there was a dim flicker of sadness, pain. Something she didn't talk about much to her children unless they asked about it.

"Posh," she said, rinsing his plate. "Go on now, hurry up. Grab your things. The bus will be here any minute." Eric turned and jogged into the living room, scooping his bag up off the couch and sliding one strap over his shoulder. His blue eyes rested on his father, who sat in the recliner.

"Bye dad," he told him. The man nodded, his face grim and full of thought. Eric sighed to himself and hurriedly made his way back into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around his mother. "Bye mum, I love you."

"Bye sweetheart, have a good day, alright?" She told him, holding his face and giving him a quick kiss on the forehead. "Summer darling, you ready?" She called. Eric swiftly made his way to the front door, stepping outside and running around to the back yard gate. He unhooked the latch and went inside, bending down as a young dog came flying around the corner, barreling him nearly over.

"Hey Gunner!" he laughed, running his hands through the dog's ruff. "I gotta go, boy okay? I'll be back later, alright? Be a good boy. Watch after mum." He stood up and stepped back out, latching the fench once again. The loud engine of the bus filled his ears, and he turned, running back to the front of the house. Summer was already stepping onto the large vehicle. He raced towards her, quickly reaching her and clamboring onto the bus himself.

His excitement quickly dimmed and faded as he saw all the faces staring back at him like they always did. He swallowed and nodded at a couple as a shy greeting, and made his way quietly to his normal seat near the back of the bus. Summer quickly found her regular seat next to her friend within the first two rows.

"Hey Godfrey," One of the freshman said, tossing a crumpled paper ball at him. "Joining the team next year, I hope?" Eric grinned slightly, nodding.

"Planning on it, yeah." he answered, tossing the paper ball back.

"Good. We're gonna need you in high school." The freshman caught the ball and faced a girl sitting across from him, his attention now on her.

Eric turned back around and slipped into his seat, setting his bag next to him since no one ever bothered to sit there. Unless of course there was no room. Simply because everyone had their designated seats it seemed, always sitting in the same spot with the same people.

He leaned his head against the window as the bus began to pull out, making its way slowly down the streets. His house was usually always the last stop, which was why he was confused when it pulled up to another.

I thought the Greene's moved. he thought, remembering the people that used to live there. He then remembered briefly over hearing his parents talking about the new family in town. So they had a kid. He sighed and turned to his bag, unzipping it and digging around inside for a book he had started reading. Once in his hand, he zipped the bag back up and opened the book, his attention fading from everything else around him.

The bus started to inch forward again, and a voice he hadn't heard before reached his ears, asking him a question. His attention broke from his book, and he looked up to see a girl standing there. "Uh yeah, sure." he answered, starting to reach and move his things. But before he could she plopped herself down in quite a hurry, her weight landing briefly on his leg. She hopped right back up and he grabbed his bag, moving it to the floor in front of his legs and scooted a bit closer to the window. She apologized, sitting back down a bit more carefully.

"It's alright," he said softly in answer to her apology, a small but kind smile on his face. She introduced herself as Kai, and told him that he could call her Kailey as well if he liked. "My name's Eric." he told her nicely, his slight English accent slipping through his words as it often did. For the most part he spoke in an American accent, since it was what most people here spoke, but when at home he almost always spoke as his mother did, the accent coming naturally to him since that was what he had grown up hearing.

He'd closed his book, having given his attention to her as to not be rude, but she turned to her things, rummaging through her bag. He leaned forward, putting his book back into his own, hearing her whispered curse. He turned to look at her, his eye brows raised curiously.

A grin split his face at her words, but not an unkind one. "I have a few pencils you could use." he told her, grabbing a few of his own and handing them to her. "Have way too many for myself, so just keep them." He sat back into his normal position, his blue eyes watching her curiously. There weren't many people of color in this town, so many were Caucasian. There were a few Mexican Americans and African Americans sprinkled through the town and school, but that was just about it.

He knew some of those students were bullied because of it, something they couldn't help, which made him mad. He felt some sort of sense that the same would happen to Kai because of it, which made him nervous for her.

He jumped slightly as she slapped her face with the palm of her hand, the corners of his mouth turning into a small grin but his eyes filled with a bit of wariness. What was wrong?

Oh. he thought. Forgot her water bottle. He listened to her speak before saying,

"I can buy you a water from the vending machine if you want. It's only like a dollar fifty." He smiled at her as she asked how he was. "I'm good. Aside from your...troubles, how are you?" he asked a bit teasingly. "It's okay, if you need something I'm sure someone will give it to you. What grade are you in? I'm in 8th. I've been going to school here since Kindergarten." he answered her. "Where did you move here from?"

"Oops." He might think she was talking about how rude and abrupt she had been, but she was thinking about the book. At least he was being polite enough to put it away. Was he actually interested? How far did this niceness go? She noticed his slightly judgmental look, when she cursed. It was quite normal at her school. Why was he looking at her like that? What had she done wrong? When he grinned she relaxed slightly, and her lips slightly curved,"I am glad that you are amused." When he handed her the pencils, she gushed, "Oh thank you. You are a life saver. I don't want to make a bad first impression on the teachers. They can make life hell, since I spend five days of a week with them, and they can give homework."

She didn't find it that big of a deal, because she would totally give someone a pencil. "I normally try to return stuff, but it might be better if I keep it. I normally lose pencils in my backpack anyway, which has been a life saver a time or two." She hide her amusement, when he jumped, when she slapped herself. He appeared like he wanted to be amused, but he was scared to. Her eyes widened, when he offered to buy her a water. "Seriously? I didn't mean to complain and force you to help me like this. I feel like I am taking advantage of you." She would want a drink eventually, but at the same time she would survive without it. "I'll give you some time to think about it. I might not need a drink. If you don't want to buy me a drink at lunch, you can avoid me."

She giggled a little, "Hopefully, I don't embarrass you pursuing you so that you'll buy me a drink." She generally didn't have much pocket change, and she knew other kids didn't always either. She grinned as he called the consequences of her forgetfulness troubles. "Um....I'm not sure. I haven't decided if I like it here or not. I'm hoping I can convince my parents to get a dog, but they continue to insist on cats. I guess I'm doing good," she decided after a quick thought. "I can't depend on anyone until I've proven myself to be a reliable person," she told him. "Not everyone does it quite out of the good niceness of their hearts. No one is really good anyway," she stated matter of factly.

This might be the awkwardest way she had ever segued into her religion, but she had to try somehow eventually. Perhaps it was coming on too strongly. She stopped herself from going further. "I'm in 7th grade." Her brow furrowed, and she threw her hands up in the air, "Great! I stick out like a sore thumb as a newbie! I'm going to be eaten alive." She sat back after her dramatic outburst, and sighed, "I came from Virginia. We're still getting settled. My mom's job moved us." The bus pulled up to the school, and she felt their conversation was being interrupted, as everyone started getting off. "It was nice meeting you Eric. Hopefully, I'll get to meet up with you again, if you aren't too scared off." She grabbed her belongings, so that he could get off. She didn't want to make them late, or for the bus to try to drive off.

She started heading toward her homeroom. She kept on checking her schedule not sure if she was going the right way. She realized she should have asked Eric to help her. She side grazed into someone, as she was gazing around awkwardly trying to plan where to go next.

"Sorry," she offered an awkward smile, and was about to continue on.

The boy was someone who seemed to have had a growth spurt unlike her, and he towered over her almost a head taller. She was probably exaggerating, but she had to look up at him. He jerked around rather violently, and she stumbled backward trying to avoid him.

She was about to continue on, when he raised a brow at her.

"Aren't you a dirty little raggamuffin?" he wrinkled his nose at her.

She felt afraid at his tone, and she wondered if a shower would have helped. He looked down his nose at her.

"Oh...it's partly your skin," his tone was harsh, and sent off warning signals blaring through her head. "Don't you surf or something? Why don't you wash off in the water, so you aren't so dark and dirty? I don't know why they want to let you people into this country. It's not right. We fight against you," he shook his head disgusted. "You must be so awkward, because you're a fish out of water. Watch where you are going you little bitch! You don't belong here, and you should go back where you came from."

One side of her wanted to come back hard, but she was afraid. Why did he hate her so just because she bumped him? This was the most awful day she could remember.

In a trembly voice, she began to blab, "You don't fight me. We're one country. Hawaii has been an American state for quite a while. I've never lived near the coast, so I don't swim any more than you do. I always liked my skin tone. I feel like yours looks all sickly. I didn't want to come here. If I had a choice I wouldn't be here."

There were a lot of other things she could say, but they were locked away. Tears were welling up in her eyes, as she backed away. Why were no teachers stopping this? At this rate, she was going to be late, and she was going to be crying. How humiliating!

"Did you back talk to me?" he advanced on her.

He was a chubby kid, and had quite the weight advantage as well. "Sorry," she whispered again.

"We don't like smart alecs around here," he tried to intimidate her by standing over her, and trapping her against the wall.

"Impetuous..." he repeated, giving her a grin. "Perhaps a little." He did however scoot over and make room for her, signaling that he didn't mind her rushed carelessness. She asked him where he got his accent from, and at first his expression seemed a bit caught off guard, surprised. Not in the slightest offended at all, but it was rare anyone ever asked him about it. Mostly because many people knew his mother.

A kind smile formed on his face, and he cleared his throat a bit shyly. "Oh," he said softly, chuckling quietly before answering. "My mum's from England. She was born and raised in London, moved to America when she was twenty. Guess I just kind of....picked it up naturally." He gave a glance and small nod towards the front of the bus, subtly gesturing at his sister Summer. "The girl with the red-blonde hair," he said quietly, "That's my sister Summer. She's got an accent too, but she hides it better than me. She likes to be all proper and fit in I guess." He shrugged, giving Kai a shy but kind smile. "I don't care so much about that stuff I s'pose. She tries to sound more like Dad. She's picked it up rather nicely. I can do it too, but I don't speak too much normally." He gave a sort of confused look, but not directed at anyone other than himself. He was puzzled over how easy it was talking to this girl. Perhaps because he'd never known her before. She didn't really know him, so it was easier to ramble. Or maybe it was simply because she was just an easy person to talk to.

He felt slightly confused at her muttered "oops," but said nothing on it. She told him a bit teasingly that she was glad he was amused, and he giggled quietly to himself. "Always," he muttered softly. He couldn't help but grin at her as she thanked him for the pencils. He nodded at her words, his bright blue eyes shimmering with interest in her. She was unlike any other girl he'd met thus far, openly talking to him so much, and not being overly shy or trying to conceal her true self from him. She seemed as if she was being herself, at least.

He gave a small chuckle at her surprised expression as he offered to buy her a water, and shook his head as she spoke about giving him time to think on it. "Don't worry about it," he said, actually becoming quite entertained by her. She seemed nice enough, easy to get along with, and funny, even if she wasn't exactly meaning to be. "It's not a big deal. I'll buy you a water." He giggled as she did, glancing shyly down at the floor of the bus before looking back over at her.

"I'd say I'm rather easy to embarrass," he confessed to her with a smile. "But I wouldn't worry about it. I won't be trying to avoid you, after all. No sense in that." She started answering his questions, and he nodded, listening to her. "I can understand that." he said gently. "It'll take a while to adjust to things, I'm sure." He tilted his head at her words about no one being good, curious. Was she hinting at what he thought she was? Perhaps. Or perhaps not. "Full certainty in that being true." He only said in response, agreeing with her.

He sort of jumped again as she threw her hands up into the air out of seeming frustration. She had a ball of energy he could never hope to possess, not in day to day conversation at least. On the court was a different story. He was more of a mellow, outwardly calm person, aside from his mind making constant notes about people and things.

In these quick few moments, his observent nature picked up the slight subtle difference in her eyes. The way one seemed to move slightly less than the other when she looked around. Was it possible she had a fake eye? Or maybe something was wrong with the one that delayed reaction time. He said nothing on it though, his brain simply filing it away as an interesting find.

"Oh wow," he commented as she said her and her family had come from Virginia. "That's a bit of a long way." He offered her a sympathetic yet still slightly teasing grin, lightly bumping her shoulder with his own. "We have a dog. I bet he'd like you." The bus came to a screeching halt, and the students began to bustle about, grabbing their things and hustling off. Kai rose to her feet, grabbing her things.

"Nice meeting you too, Kailey," he said in response to her. He didn't really notice until after he'd said it that he'd said her full first name rather than the nickname she'd presented to him at first. He supposed because his brain was wired to take in the details, and saying her full first name showed that he'd really listened to what she'd had to say, and didn't just go about the easy route of things. Instead, he'd actually remembered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He'd followed her off the bus, but parted ways as they entered the building. He would first make his way to his locker, putting some of his books in there that he wouldn't need for the first half of the day. After that, he slung his bag over his shoulder and started making his way to his homeroom. Normally, Eric tried to make his way to class as quickly as possible, keeping his head low and avoiding any highschoolers that may decide to pick on an upcoming freshman.

But his ears couldn't help but overhear a familiar voice as he passed, and out of the corner of his eye he could see the source of it. It was Seth Huggins, a student in Eric's class who was well known around the school for picking on new students, specializing in taunting those of a different race.

He felt a small swell of anger and annoyance in his chest as he wondered who the poor victim was this time. But his question was very quickly answered as he saw a certain friendly face upon which he had just been slightly studying not ten minutes before.

"Hey!" he called, feeling a strange sort of protectiveness flare up inside of him. A new bolt of bravery. Seth was quite a bit larger in width, but he and Eric were about the same height. He was a bit surprised at how swiftly he'd made it to the scene, stepping up beside Kai and slipping himself between her and her attacker. "Back of Seth, give her some room, would ya? Bloody hell, it's her first day and you're already trying to get to her head?"

"We don't need anymore like her in this school, Godfrey." Seth growled.

"Like her?" Eric retorted, narrowing his eyes. "She's a right proper girl, Seth. What does it matter, the color of her skin? She's here to learn and make friends, like anyone here." Before he even realized what he was doing, he reached behind him and gently grabbed her hand, moving her out from against the wall and leading her away from Huggins. "Leave her be, will you? I'm sure it'll make things a lot easier for all of us." With that, he turned and walked away, holding her hand in his until they were far enough away.

He walked with her into one of the smaller hallways, slowing his pace and moving to the side to let any hurrying students past without being in their way. "You okay? Sorry, I probably should have warned you about him and his buddies. There's a few of them here who don't exactly appreciate any diversity." He took a glance at her schedule. "You need help finding your homeroom?" he asked kindly. He gave her a small teasing smile, bumping her shoulder lightly with his own again like he'd done on the bus. "Or a bodyguard? I could probably be a decent one of those."

He lifted his chin to see Seth and his friends stalk past the two of them, instinctively side stepping a little closer to Kai until they passed on. "He made fun of me, too." he told her quietly. "My accent. Just a little. Never bothered my sister though. Maybe 'cause she's older. And better at hiding it." He shrugged. "He'll leave you be eventually, but you may have to deal with it for a bit longer." He couldn't understand why anyone would want to pick on someone like Kai. She was nice and funny, and he had a pretty strong feeling that she would end up making a rather good friend. He was also a little surprised at the fact that Seth had picked on her, because...she was quite pretty. Or at the very least, she was cute. He didn't think Seth would have the nerve to pick on a pretty girl. But perhaps Eric's definition of pretty was something entirely different than Huggin's.

"I'll be kind of around all day." he said to her as they walked. "It looks like you have a few classes with me, and your scheduled classes are pretty close to where mine are. If you need help with anything, I can't be too hard to miss." He chuckled.

Always amused? Questionable.

Even after only a few minutes of talking to him, she didn't think he was without a sense of humor, but he didn't seem like he would always be amused either.

Kai was often apprehensive around people when she didn't know how old they were. Older grades tended to be disdainful of their younger peers, and she had to be careful. He was significantly taller, and she wouldn't be surprised if he was older, because many girls their age were still taller than the boys, so his height was slightly unusual. Around him, she had let herself relax. Why? When he revealed that he was a grade higher than her, she began to play with her hair. The tatty mess grew back, and her smiles were more hesitant. It wasn't a big deal to most people, but from her experience the grades tended to be segregated.

"Thanks in advance. Now, that I have thanked you, I can't take it back, so you can't hold out on me," her laugh pealed shriller than normal. She looked out the greasy bus window for a moment, as there was a short lull in the conversation. One. Two. Three. Four. She counted, trying to resist the urge to break the silence before then. Silence could be a good thing, and she was trying to train herself that there didn't have to be noise and talking every moment. Silence didn't have to be awkward. "These windows are nasty. I always wonder how other students are willing to lean their heads on it. Look at all of those marks," she loudly stage whispered. "Quite disgusting." Immediately, she interrupted her diatribe, and cocked her head curiously. A confession! Ooh. Information and details already.

She laughed at herself in her head. She needed to stop watching so much tv about school drama and gossip. It was obviously affecting her thoughts. She sighed a little, "That's a relief. I'll be awkward enough here, without seeming crazy, because I'm trying to chase a boy down." She didn't bring up that she was a plain awkward person, and it didn't take much for wagging tongues to label a girl as boy crazy. It was against social norms to mention that, and and she tried to be socially acceptable....sometimes. It was hard work, and she often stood there wide eyed unsure. Maybe....just maybe she had crossed that line, and she thought she hadn't. Her gaze darted guilty to him, and she blushed, as her gaze flashed back and forth. She had crossed that invisible line. People were always trying not to get certain reputations, but for some reason they never dared to mention that, and she had.

Blabber mouth.

If this were anything like a movie, she sighed dreamily to herself, he would volunteer to show her around without her having to hint. She tried to bring herself back to reality, even though she was secretly hoping something would happen. Some people agreed with her on her comment, but many thought they were good people, because they didn't go around stealing or killing. There were many other smaller deeds, that were bad. People never seemed to count those, unless you got caught often at it. She sighed remembering what her mother had told her. She should be wise about her crushes, and they were a waste of time. Besides, she had just met the poor boy, even if he was cute. Her mother had said at least wait to see if the boy was a Christian, and that he possessed a lot of good qualities. She agreed with her mother's thought process, and stopped herself from leaping head first into a crush.

Too much Hallmark, especially at a new place, was causing her to expect the unrealistic from her new school. Even though she liked Hallmark for its predictableness, romance, and happy endings, there was such a thing as too much. She yawed for a moment now that she was more relaxed, and rubbed her eyes.

She froze.

She began to hope that she had them with her. Her hands moved a bit clumsily, as she rumaged about. She often lost things in her backpack, so there was a chance there was a pair in there. Her mother would kill her, if she returned home without them. She began to give up, as she had forgotten her glasses. She wasn't sure if she should ask him for help, and interrupt what they were talking about, or wait for a chance to worry later. She was surprised when he touched her, even though it was only a teasing nudge. They were strangers after all. Her wheels were turning, as she tried to understand this new turn. She nodded her head agreeing.

"Hey, I know I've been super crazy already today, but do you see glasses anywhere on me. Just thought I'd ask, since I'm known to wear them and not realize it," she began to pat around her body hoping that they were on her. "It appears I forgot those also." As they began to grab her things, she realized she wouldn't have enough time to check her bag. She would just have to survive without them. She let the crowd sweep her away and out. Soon she had a hard time seeing Eric in the crowd, and they parted ways. She was curious that he didn't call her Kai. Was he trying to be formal? Curious. He was willing to nudge her, but not call her Kai?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kai entered the building and wrinkled her nose. What was that? Cleaner? Alcohol? Had someone been sick? Was it because it was the first day of class? She took a moment to pull off to the side to check her schedule once more. She thought she knew where she was going, but this was important, and she didn't want to have to try again. With elongated strides, she set off with purpose, her head turned straight forward not turned in the slightest, because she was focused and honing in. She was too occupied trying to make it to class on time to drop any books off at her locker, or find out where her locker was.

As she wandered up and down the same hallway a few times second guessing, if she was in the right place, she struggled to find the homeroom. She didn't want to disappoint her teacher, or be the last one to enter, and have everyone stare at her in silence, as she struggled to find a seat. She preferred to keep the attention off of her. She wasn't as cautious as she normally was, and there in lay her mistake. She cowered away from the large bully, not sure if it was possible to appease him. Tears were stinging her eyes. Why did he hate her? What had she done wrong? Why was no one helping her?

She was surprised, when she noted the boy from the school bus coming her way. If he was willing to interfere with this, maybe he could be her prince charming. She rolled her eyes at herself. Trust her to think of something as cheesy as that, when she was being insulted deeply at a new school. At the least she wouldn't be doubting his offer to buy her a drink of water. She hoped that Eric could stand up to him. She had stood on the side of a fight before, and she wasn't sure if she would be able to intervene. However, if she could manage it, both of them would take this bully down if necessary. She sized them both up, believing that the bully looked more capable, even with Kai's help.

Of course fighting was an odd thing where one couldn't be certain until blows were being traded. Eric wouldn't be alone defending her. Even though Kai was plucky enough to physically defend herself, other than when she began to nervously blabber, she found it hard to speak up. Did it matter what day it was for her? No. Even if she was old and gray, nobody should be treated like this. In her soft indignant voice, her tone was accusing, "You! There may not be any need for well you know me at this um..school, but there isn't a need for uhhh..bullies either," she racked her brain for what to say next.

"And I um...I might not be needed, because well you know not many are, but I ummmm I belong here as much as anybody else," she was surprised at what she had said. Too many movies or gratefulness that someone had stood up for her? Seth's words were rolling off of Kai like water off a duck's back. It warmed her from her heart, that someone who had only talked to her for ten minutes was willing to stand up for her. How many could say that? "Now I uh...I have to be going, because I uh...I have better things to do than to uh...stand around and be uh... be insulted."

She was a bit pricked that Eric said the phrase proper girl. What was that supposed to mean? However, she decided not to question her defender, and tried to let her annoyance melt away. She accepted Eric's hand, wondering how long this unified front would last. His hand surprised her. It was softer. She wasn't sure what she expected. Possibly, something larger and rougher like her father's. She quickly kept pace with him. Before she had almost burst into tears, but she was all cheered up now, even if she was a bit angry. "I guess I am okay," she shrugged a moment wiping out any tears that were remaining.

She had decided to let Eric release her hand first. She waited a moment to see if any more wanted to sting her eyes. "Thanks for coming to my rescue," she tried to smile. She shrugged. She was sort of used to it. Most of the time bullies were more subtle, and her friends told her about it afterwards, and she took a moment to feel indignant then, when she was safely far away from them. If they were going to act like this at her new school, she needed to find a friend group for safety measures.

"He was large."

There was a long silence.

Where was she going with this?

"I was curious how it would be if you had to take him," she sort of explained after she realized her silence had been random. For once she had the sense to not mention that she had been dubious he was capable. It wasn't wise to insult her dashing knight. She gave an awkward chuckle, "Yeah. I really do want you to show me to homeroom. I'm a bit lost." She also didn't want any bullies to decide to deliver their insults while she was completely alone. She hated being isolated, and having nobody to depend on. She would have to find somebody before the day was out, even if they were only to hang out with, and they weren't really friends.

She rubbed her stomach gently, imagining being alone. She grinned. A few boys, who had had crushes, when she was younger had been protective of her. She always felt flattered to see that, even though most of the time, she wanted to tell them that she could totally handle herself. "For now a guide will be fine. You can be my secret body guard. I don't want everyone to know," the creases around her eyes crinkled slightly as her lips curved upward. It took some effort to contain her giggle. She doubted she would be targeted that badly, even though being bullied on the first day didn't inflate her with confidence.

Kai tried not to appear afraid, when the boys went by, but she did avoid their gaze hoping they wouldn't notice her. This was the first time he had seen her smirk sardonically, "I'm not sure if I should be relieved or not that I am not the only one." She sighed with a heave, not sure how to get this jerk off her back. She could deal with it though. "Oh, what a relief," she grinned. "I can force you to rescue me again. Put myself in a predicament, and you'll have to come running. Soon you'll be calling me your highness," she raised her chin primly in the most arrogant way she looked down her nose at him.

Even though she was technically looking up, she still managed to pull the facial expression off. She realized that after today, she would begin to track Eric in the crowd, whenever he was in eyesight. It was what she did to anyone she felt any sort of friendship with. She liked to know where they all were. After she straightened herself and her stuff, she let Eric lead her to her classrooms. "Hopefully, I won't need you," she told him, even though she would like to see him, because they both wanted to. She stood outside her classroom door for a moment double checking everything. When she was sure that no one was watching closely, she impulsively leaned to give him a big thank you hug, and a quick peck on the cheek. It was mostly just her lips gently and softly touching his skin for a second. She slightly smiled, "Impetuous," she reminded him, before she hurried into her classroom, so he couldn't do anything.

If her mom knew, she would kill Kai.

(I could have kept going, but I am tired. I want to go to bed, I've spent almost four good hours on this, rereading, adding, cocentrating, and I am bringing it to a stop right there. Ha. I went from not knowing what to write for us to this. I really need to get to other stuff.) Dang it. My desire to become a better writer has possessed me, so I am going to keep going....maybe. I keep on seeing stuff O.o

Eric grinned at her first statement, and shrugged as she asked him why he didn't have a normal American accent. "It's fairly easy to do, and I can speak that way," he conceaded. "I do a weird shifting thing if you know what I mean." he started to explain. "Most times at school I'll speak like most everyone else, but at home I speak like my mum. It's a bit weird, I'll admit. You'll probably notice that my accent kinda switches on and off throughout the day between American and English, but I feel like there's always that subtle undertone of my mum's there. Probably just because I heard her voice the most often for the first few years of my life, so my brain just is wired that way, I don't know." He shrugged again. He knew of a famous couple in which the wife was a Brit and the husband was American, they both lived in America, and yet both of their children spoke in their mother's accent. At least for the first 6 or 7 years of their life before picking up more on the American accent. It was strange, how brains worked.

He looked as she pointed out her sister, spotting her rather quickly. She looked like she acted just as Kai was saying she acted, and he nodded softly. "Looks like her and my sis might get along," he commented. He didn't notice her slight change in demeanor at first, giving her a friendly smile at her comment about him not holding out on her.

"Don't worry, I'll still get you water." he confirmed, sitting back into a more comfortable position in the seat. The conversation fell silent for a few moments, his blue gaze travelling to peer out the window as the drove, making their way closer and closer to the school. He gave her a shy and somewhat embarrassed grin as she pointed out the dirty windows and openly commented on how she couldn't understand students resting their heads against it. He remembered doing the exact thing not three minutes before she arrived on the bus.

"Well..." he quietly said, giggling a little. "I'd say most don't think too much about it." She said it was a relief that he wouldn't be trying to avoid her, and then said something rather peculiar. Trying to chase him down? What did she mean by that? She'd only just met him, surely she couldn't be crushing already. He let it settle in his mind for a moment before coming to the conclusion that maybe she was just expressing that that's how others may see it, if she had to chase him down in order for him to keep the promise he'd made.

"Everyone's awkward here to a degree, so I wouldn't worry about it." He tried to reassure. He noticed her start to look about, as if she was searching for something she may have dropped. He watched quietly for a moment, unsure if anything he would do would help. Sometimes it was better to sit still and be quiet rather than make things worse by trying to help. Finally, she spoke to him, asking for some sort of help.

"No, you're not wearing them."

So there is something wrong with her eye. he thought, remembering back to the subtle little detail he'd noticed just moments before. He stood up somewhat carefully, his gaze scanning the bus floor just in case they had fallen out of her bag or something. But he saw nothing, so after saying goodbye, he let the crowd pull him into school.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eric was a bit surprised as she spoke up from beside him, speaking directly to Seth. At first he had thought that her words had been pointed at himself, but that was quickly disproven. Even though he was frustrated and mad at Seth, he couldn't help but let a miniscule smile grace his lips at her words, as she suddenly seemed to become a bit braver, standing up for herself. Even though just seconds ago he'd detected the expression of someone on the verge of tears.

Her ending words granted her a look and smile from Eric, his blue eyes shining with a small but new admiration for her. At least she wasn't someone who cowered completely away from someone bigger and meaner than her. At least she had some spunk.

Once they were away from the bullies, he released her hand. Part of him had wanted that contact to linger. Something about her was intriguing. She seemed different than most people here, in a strange but good way. Especially compared to most of the girls their age. He'd been approached by a shocking number of girls in his class and the grade below, shyly asking for his number or wanting to hang out. Or even just to partner up for an assignment.

Most girls who had a crush on him asked their friend to approach him first, which was a concept he found hard to understand. Why not just come up yourself? Most spent their time with him giggling or trying their best to flirt, appear shy and cute, or something else rather drastic and cringy. There were a certain few that were visually attractive to him, but never was there a girl that caught his attention quite like Kailey had.

She hadn't been afraid to be herself, she hadn't asked for his number, she hadn't tried to butter him up, and she seemed confident in a weird stumbling way that made her cute. He couldn't say that he had a crush on her by any means, because he didn't. But he did find her interesting, and he did find himself wanting to hang around her more. Her energy felt positive and fun, and for some reason he had a feeling that this girl would prove to be a great friend.

She answered him, saying that she supposed she was okay, and he felt a bit of sadness for her as he saw her wiping away any remaining tears. She thanked him, and he gave her a genuine caring smile. "You're welcome." he said quietly, shifting on his feet a little. "I didn't know how much good it would do, but I tried."

He narrowed his eyes a little in confusion at her next words, unsure of where she was going with her comment. There was an awkward moment of silence in which Eric simply tried to make sense of her words on his own accord. Finally, she spoke up again, clarifying.

"Oh," he said, giving a small chuckle. "Yeah. I'm...not too sure how much of a use I would have been. He's...a bit bigger than me." He bit his lower lip for a second, his gaze traveling to the floor. Seth truly was bigger than him, in every sense of the word. He wasn't sure how long he would have been able to keep up a fight if the incident had turned physical. Luckily it hadn't, and he didn't have to find out the answer.

She admitted that she did want him to show her to homeroom, confessing that she was a little lost. He nodded, giving her a friendly smile. "It's not too hard to find. I'm pretty sure you'll figure things out pretty quickly." he said. He chuckled at her comments about keeping his body guarding a secret, her grin catching. There was just something about her...

Her sardonic smile and following words caused him to let out a small breath that could have been interpreted at the start of a chuckle. "Well I suppose you'll figure that out, too." he said in response. "If I were you I'd be relieved, because at least you aren't going through it alone. At least there's others that can relate to you, and you have people to talk to about it that will understand."

He actually let out a laugh as she told him that eventually he would have to start calling her your highness. He doubted he could ever say that to her unless it was pure teasing. He couldn't imagine being that rude to someone like her. He raised his brows at her prim expression, taken slightly aback by how in authority she looked. Even though she was a good several inches shorter than him, she still managed to pull off an expression that made him feel like he should obey her every word.

His eyes were alight with a happy and playful nature, and the grin on his face couldn't be fully stopped. He shook his head, running a hand through his dark waves of hair before starting to lead her to homeroom. "Your first hour is homeroom obviously, which is in room 309. It's right next to my homeroom class, so that will be easy to find. Just a straight shot down this hall and to the left." He walked with her there, pointing out the lockers that her class would be using and giving her a quick breakdown of all the teachers she had and what they were like so she would have some sort of idea of what to expect.

Most of the teachers here were friendly and laid back, but a certain few weren't so kind. He figured it would put less stress on her if she knew at least a brief explanation and expectations for the teachers she would have for her classes.

Once he'd led her there, he waited with her outside the door as she checked to make sure she had everything. He was about to turn and walk into his class when she reached out and wrapped her arms around him in a big hug. He gave a small jump, having not expected it at all, but was quick to realize what was happening and hugged her lightly back. What really caught him off guard though, was the small peck on the cheek that she gave him.

His eyes went wide for a second, in complete surprise. She released her grip on him and stepped back, speaking only one word before turning and hurrying into her classroom. He stood for a second longer, the word she'd spoken finally registering. The corners of his mouth started to turn into a small smile, but soon grew into a full grin, finding humor and a certain sweetness in the moment.

He turned and walked into his class, grinning like an absolute idiot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ooooohhh Eric's gotta giiirrllfriieendd!" A voice sing songily whispered in his ear.

"Shut up, Kyle." Eric whispered back, trying to keep a straight face as he sat, his eyes on the clock as he waited for the bell to ring. It was almost lunch. He didn't have any classes with Kai until after lunch, so he'd been left waiting in some sort of suspense for the first four classes, still slightly bewildered at what she'd done.

Of course Kyle had seen it, but Eric didn't much mind. He was his closest guy friend after all, and he trusted he wouldn't say anything to anyone else.

"It was nothing, she didn't mean it like that." he reasoned, looking at his friend. Kyle raised his brows, making a face that made him look like he doubted Eric's words. "Really, it was nothing!" Eric repeated, giggling at how ridiculous Kyle looked. "Now leave me alone, would you?" He playfully shoved his shoulder, standing up and strapping his bag around his shoulders.

"It was not nothing!" Kyle argued, standing up with him. "She kissed you dude! That doesn't sound like nothing to me." Eric rolled his eyes, brushing past his overly enthusiastic friend as the bell rang loudly overhead.

"It wasn't a real kiss," he argued. "Just on the cheek, you know." Kyle scoffed.

"Still a kiss if you ask me."

"A kiss doesn't always mean you have a crush on somebody!" Eric stubbornly argued, trying to keep his cheeks from blushing. In all truth, he hadn't been expecting a hug or a kiss, and it gave him a strange fluttering feeling in his chest that he wasn't sure if he liked or not. He'd never been kissed by a girl before, and he wasn't sure how to handle it.

"Aw come on," Kyle said, bumping his shoulder excitedly. "You caught the new girl! Admit it Eric, you like her."

"I mean...yeah," he confessed, shrugging. "I like her. She's really nice." Kyle raised his brows, sceptical.

"And?"

"And pretty," Eric admitted with a small grin, turning to face his friend. "But that doesn't mean I have a crush on her. It just means I think she's pretty and nice, and that I think she'll make a good friend. What's so strange about that?"

"Uhh...that she...I don't know....kissed you?!" Eric tossed his head back, starting to get slightly annoyed at Kyle's persistence.

"Listen," he started, about to start giving Kyle a small speech. But his attention on him was quickly disbanded as he spotted Kai down the hall, remembering that he still had to buy her a water before lunch. "Excuse me, one second." he said, turning and abruptly walking away, leaving Kyle standing behind with a smile on his face.

"Hey," Eric said softly as he approached her, coming up rather quickly behind. "How were your first classes? Any homework assigned? Also," He held up a finger as a signal to wait as he stopped walking, reaching a hand into his pocket and pulling out a small wad of cash and change. "Gotta remember to get you that water."