I'M GOING BANANAS [lark]

Well, the day proved to be the most boring day ever. Of all time. Classes were pretty normal, save for third period where Lark spent a bit of time writing up a new song. The lyrics had been stuck in her head for quite some time and finally used some of her "free time" to get a little down on paper. Detention had also been avoided for the day, and lunch was satisfactory. Ashton was probably busy with some school thing or another, possibly work, so she had not seen him at all that day. Not that it was a necessity; Lark was single up until Ashton and was never pining for someone's constant attention before, so she coped very well when he was off doing other things. Independence definitely had its upsides. Once the last class had finished, she scuffled out of the class as fast as humanly possible. Her stomach started to growl about the moment she left the castle doors. She clasped her hand over her abdomen and grumbled to herself. "Ugh. Guess I better go scavenge." She had originally planned to stick it out at school and eat at the mess hall after getting some homework done, but none of it was all that appealing. After eating there nearly every day it was time for a change of pace.

Using the car that her father allowed her to have after being placed in rehab, she made the drive towards the Hollow in search of whatever caught her eye. The music was loud and--probably to some--obnoxious as she drove with the window down, enjoying the weather. Winter was finally passing over them and spring was here, putting the girl in a rather good mood. Actually she had been in a good mood for quite a while now. Life was looking up. Just as she was passing by Burger King her stomach yanked her in that general direction. A car laid on the horn as she merged over rather suddenly and turned into the parking lot of the fast food establishment.

She shut it off and slid out of the driver's seat, sauntering her way inside. The grease and smell of fries wafted over her nose and instantly her mouth began to water. Perfect. With a faint glimpse of a smile, Lark got in line and began the small wait to grab her food. Soon she would be able to dig in and eat to her hearts' content. Luckily work was not until tomorrow so there was no rush to eat and run. As she waited, rolling up on the balls of her feet for a half second before coming back down, a familiar voice caught her attention. She turned her head and smiled. "Hey, Pacey," Lark greeted with an enthused wave, nodding. At his question, she tilted her head and looked thoughtful. "Well...I'm hungry and this is a place to eat...so I think I'm here to stuff my face." She quirked her eyebrows and looked serious for a moment before chuckling and turning her attention towards the board above the cash register. "I'm guessing you're here for the same thing, then?" The woman behind the register called for the next customer, so Lark stepped up and ordered her meal. A hamburger and fries and a Coke. Once she got her food she turned to Pacey. "You wanna sit with me? It would look pretty shitty if I sat at a two person table by myself." She thumbed to the tables and went to sit down, hoping he would follow once he got his food.

"I can't argue with that," Lark replied with a smile. She had only recently taken a closer affinity for eating; it was probably because she had more friends to eat out with and sit at the lunch table with. The girl could finally associate food with something positive. A good, happy feeling. Food seemed to do that to people though. A glimmer of amusement flashed in her eyes and she suppressed a laugh, her expression hiding this away for the time being. "Oh, right. I always get car lots and fast food restaurants confused..." She looked around and seemed genuinely disoriented for a moment. "You'd think I would figure it out by now, huh?" She definitely caught on to his sarcasm and bounced it back at him without skipping a beat. That would be one fucked up day, though. You walk into Burger King expecting to buy a value meal and you leave with some fancy ass car. If only it were that easy. Fast cars, not fast food. For some reason this greatly amused Lark and she inwardly chuckled.

She nodded in agreement to his comment, officially distracted by all of the colorful pictures of food on the boards overhead. It was interesting how, even though the images looked nice, most of the time your meal turned up nothing like that. Not at all. Then again Lark did not particularly care. Food was food right? She could potentially eat all of the things and not care one way or the other what it looked like. It was nice to know that Pacey was willing to sit with her and hang out though; she had quite a few friends but coming into Burger King alone she had expected to, well, sit alone. So having an unexpected bit of company was not unwelcome. "Excellent!" She replied, bouncing the tray a little as she wandered over to sit down. The fries were the first thing on the tray to capture her attention and without even waiting for her friend the girl picked up a fresh fry and nibbled on it. Lost in the deliciousness that was her greasy fast food, she merely mumbled when he asked if he could sit. It took until after she swallowed her food to come up with some sort of real reply. "Dumbass," Lark stated factually, rolling her eyes with good humor. "I wouldn't invite you to sit with me and then say no. Though that would be fun to do to someone I don't like." Oh, that would be lovely.

Just as she was about to unwrap her burger and drool over the smell, Lark looked up with a small smirk and said, "I hear horse ass tastes pretty disgusting, actually," Before taking a bite and relishing in the greasy meat. How come fast food was so addicting? Did they put some sort of drug in it? Heroine, or cocaine perhaps. "So what's up? Besides stuffing your face at our lovely local Burger King with the one and only me?" Lark was genuinely interested in the well being of her friends so she did not mind jumping right in with the inquiries. She did not know Pacey extremely well so it certainly couldn't hurt. Had he met her about a year ago or even further back (element aside) Lark probably would have avoided conversation completely. She was decently social but not as talkative. "School was boring as fuck as usual. I don't know how teachers can just babble on and on and on about absolutely nothing." Her nose wrinkled in distaste before taking another bite of her burger and leaning back int he seat. A few people walked by them, her eyes watching them for a moment before turning back to her friend. It took her until then to realize that he had ordered two Whoppers and onion rings and fries. She blinked. Damn, boy could eat. Then again she could probably try and match it if given the chance. "You think you'll actually finish all of that? I bet you won't." A friendly bet couldn't hurt.

At least people could roll with her sarcasm and sense of humor. Lark had a difficult time finding people who simply enjoyed her presence and did not mind the way she handled conversation. The Earths and Waters were actually good for that; some of them might take it all the wrong way but at least they weren't hot headed and ready to pick up a fist fight over everything. Being one with a temper, it was better for only one to have it than many. Her expression was neutral as she examined him, eating a fry slowly but thoughtfully. "Yeah I do actually. But eating alone kinda sucks so I'm gonna let you off the hook today." She didn't crack a smile or break her act of stoicism but her eyes were glinting with humor. If she truly meant to get rid of Pacey, he would definitely know it. Hissing and clawing and showing her fangs. All the good scary shit. Hey, if it worked on Avery she could try it on other people. Lark shifted her eyes back and forth, looking wary and uncertain before finally resting her dark eyes on Pacey once more. The appearance of being nervous was only temporary, for she smirked when she said, "That's classified. It requires level eight security allowance and you're about a four. Would you really want to know though?"

Who would? Not to mention that it was a half-drunken conversation among some other pretty wasted friends. Lark remembered it decently well, not having drank enough to forget the night. Now she wondered if what they said was true. Oh god. That's disgusting. "Well, aren't you the most interesting man in the world," She replied with a humored snort. "We'll need to liven you up a little bit. Add some color or some shit. Of course...school puts a damper on that I think." When you went to school five days out of the week and worked several nights things tended to look a bit bland. Fortunately for her she had Ashton, Josh, Nell, and Pacey and several other people to add a bit of light to her life. It sure made the more mundane events bearable. With how her world was before switching sides and dealing with Frank, she was not sure what her future was going to be like. Things certainly looked better. Once you hit rock bottom, you can only go back up.

She flashed him a smile. "Oh yeah, it's a challenge!" A fun little game to pass the time while they ate and talked. "Most men are pretty good at eating non-stop but hey...still fun to push limits." You know, see how many hot dogs someone could put in their mouth at one time, or stocking your cheeks with marshmallows while saying 'fluffy bunny'. Not that...she had done that before or anything. Alcohol tended to lead to stupid yet fun times. Pacey stuffed his face with the burger and waited patiently for him to finish swallowing his food before she answered. "Let's see..." Lark tapped her chin and glanced around the room before digging into her pockets. "I'll give you my pocket lint, a paperclip, two pennies and..." She set them all down on the table, flicking the penny so it started to spin between them. Her eyes shifted from the spinning coin to Pacey's face before smiling. "I'll buy your next meal. But seriously though the pocket lint is pretty special. Part of my collection." This was (semi) serious business! It needed to involve her pocket lint.

"You're one of the few, and the proud," Lark replied with a humored smile, not really all that serious about this conversation. Sure she had a tendency to send people away if they bothered her but more often than not those were mere acquaintances and she did not know them well enough to stick around. Lack of time getting to know him aside, Lark liked Pacey and was willing to learn more about him. She did laugh at his comment, breaking the act of seriousness she was trying to portray. "I know...it can be such a burden. Always gotta weed through all of those people and send them away. I'm just too awesome for my own good." She boasted proudly, tilting her chin up and acting high and mighty. Lark did not have that many people around her but it was okay to have a moment of arrogance every now and again, even if it was a bit puffed up. She pursed her lips slightly at his response. "Well, I suppose I could make you a five. But only if you're willing to give me an onion ring." Because offering her food was a good way to make your way up in the ranks for sure. She smirked at him a bit and wiggled a finger in the direction of the circular fried food with a hopeful glance. "And it's probably one of those 'tell you have to kill you' things...the information is highly confidential." Mostly due to the fact that the conversation was induced by alcohol and some of it was pretty awkward.

It took until after he quoted the commercial for her to catch on; she actually made the statement without even realizing it. Those really were wonderful commercials though. They were the ones she actually went out of her way to watch. "Wasn't there one about never losing a pair of socks or something?" She could not remember all of them, just bits and pieces. Maybe Youtube could enlighten her a bit more on some of the better quotes from the commercials so she can use them later. Just for shits and giggles of course. "Mmm. I haven't taken marker to your face yet," Lark pouted and looked disappointed that she might not be able to color on his face. "I have all sorts of colors. I could make you look gorgeous." And how awkward would it be if she just pulled out a pack of markers and began trying to draw whiskers or some such thing on his cheeks? She nodded at the comment about school, clearly agreeing with the statement judging by the expression on her face. She could be playing her guitar or spending time with Ashton or friends.

The glint in her eyes continued to dance as she watched him, amused that he was willing to play along with her on this food eating challenge. Unless Pacey's eyes were bigger than his stomach--which was possible, but not too likely--she had a feeling that he could down the food without a moment's hesitation. Unless he liked to buy more food than he could eat just for the hell of it, which would be weird. "So then what sort of man are you? I didn't know there were different types." She was eager to be enlightened about this. Well, more for the sake of conversation than anything. It was nice to know that she did not have to spend her time eating at Burger King alone. Lark smirked at him and twitched her eyebrows upward, pushing the paperclip in Pacey's direction. "The biggest better you'll ever meet. I mean, you can't pass up any of this." She gestured to the items on the table with a coy smile, watching as the penny finally fell on its side. Lark rolled her shoulders a bit, unfazed by the prospect of an expensive meal. "Meh. It's not like I'm broke or anything. Bring it on, bro." Betting was not always something she went out of her way to do but it was usually in jest and meant to make conversation fun or interesting. So what if she bought Pacey more food? No big deal. The money was replaceable.

Was there such a thing as being 'too awesome'? Maybe. It depended on who you were, she supposed. Lark always thought her friends were the most awesome people on the planet, but that was a bit biased. They were in her life for a reason and they would not be there if not for their level of amazing awesomeness. She flipped her hair dramatically. "They just can't handle me and my epicness," The girl boasted with false pride, lips twitching into a small but amused smirk. "And if they can't handle me, then I guess they're shit outta luck, huh?" That was actually something she looked for in friends, people who could deal with her temper, her sarcasm, her somewhat abrasive personality. She did not go out of her way to be a bitch to scare people off though. Lark did not change or act out for anyone or anything. If she changed, it was something that was meant to do so. She watched him intently, wondering if he would actually accept her offer. Onion rings were a rather delicious thing and if she could even get her hands on one she would be content. "Hmm..." She pondered his offer, eyeing the onion rings as they were pushed towards her. "I think I can handle that. Five and a half it is." Without a second thought, Lark picked up the onion rings and shook them in his direction. "You're lucky. I don't negotiate with just anyone. Normally I would just take your food without asking."

That was a lie; she would never take things from her friends simply because she could. Kinda rude, if you ask her. She figured snatching a few friends couldn't hurt but beyond that Lark preferred to ask. "Okay, okay," She sighed and appeared to be exasperated, though the look in her eyes spoke otherwise. "Fine I won't kill you. I'll spare your life...for now. Because I like you." And she did, of course, otherwise she would not have invited the guy to sit with her for lunch. That would have been pretty backwards.

"You should! And let me know if one of them has it. Because I coulda sworn one of those commercials said something about socks." Or she could be delusional and spent way to much time falling asleep with the TV on. Any sort of paid programming show could have been on, selling some sort of amazing sock that knew how to talk or something. What a random thought but they sell just about anything on the television these days. Lark eyed him back. "I can handle the washable ones, but don't ruin my creativity. I was hoping to draw a penis on your face or some shit." Nah, that was something she enjoyed doing to her drunk friends after they passed out. It was funny as hell to watch them stagger into the bathroom and have random drawings all over their face. Unfortunately for those poor souls, those were done with permanent marker. She liked Pacey so would stick with something that was a little easier to remove.

It was difficult for Lark not to cover her mouth and chuckle at his comment, but managed well enough. Instead the girl looked him over once with a quirked eyebrow of curiosity and remained completely neutral. "So manly men are the ones who can inhale food? Like a living vacuum cleaner. I need one of those around when I can't finish all of my food." For some reason she imagined Pacey as an actual vacuum cleaner with blonde hair and attempting to flex his muscles. What a random but hilarious image. She actually chuckled out loud over it. Lark leaned over a little, resting her arms on the table and watching as he ate like some sort of starving homeless man while she picked at her food rather normally. Oh, if someone challenged her she could very well down some food but right now she was more amused watching Pacey do it. "I know, no one can turn down pocket lint. That even bests your next meal in my opinion." Well, she had to admit that food was way better but this was all in fun. Lark liked that Pacey could just roll with her. People like that were so incredibly fun to have around. She drew her head back a bit, gripping the side of the table. "Whoa now Pace, don't get ahead of yourself. You go ordering that much and you can be sure I'll dine and ditch and leave you with the bill. It's fun being unable to pay, if you like washing dishes." And that would not be fun, not in the least.

Could it really be a loss to the other side, having her walk away? It was not as though she was part of their large and temperamental social circle; Lark was a temperamental Fire all on her own. A few friends did linger around but there were not many. After her parent's divorce it all went down from there. A snowball rolling down a hill. "Damn straight," Lark agreed with a half nod. "But I have no plans on going back so they are shit outta luck." She eyed him for a brief second before poking at the bread of her sandwich. There were no intentions of switching back; her life was turning out for the better now and the people she cared about were right by her side. One would be a fool to walk away from that for a generic camaraderie that had hardly been used in the first place. "It's always possible to work your way up in the ranks with me. Just bring me food and be epic. Those are the main requirements." Not to mention avoiding being a backstabbing liar of sorts, but Lark did not like to assume her friends would turn out to be like that. Her circle was larger than before, but not big enough to toss people aside.

"Life would be perfect if every sock found its match without us even trying." She mused over this, as though this were a serious discussion. Never losing a sock again? Yes please. "Unfortunately the dryer likes to suck them up into the dark abyss." If there were ever a sock stealing culprit, she would instantly blame the dryer. How else did the socks go into the laundry hamper together, get dumped into the washer machine together, and then come out of the dryer with one missing? Dark magic. Lark flashed Pace a wolfish-type grin, mischievous and excited at the same time. "Excellent. It might be more fun if you were wasted but I suppose I can just wait until you're asleep." That all depended on how heavy a sleeper Pacey was, but Lark was not beyond the attempt. She liked to troll her friends, even if some attempts were not so innocent. Hey, she never claimed to be an angel. The girl pursed her lips into a childish pout and exhaled through her nostrils; really she could be overly dramatic. "Fine. Hold me back why don't you? This is why artists never make it far in life." That was true for her and guitar; Frank always got upset over her playing in the house. I have the dorms now. I don't have to deal with that. The only thing she adhered to now were the quiet hours.

She drew her head back and looked a bit perturbed, though it was all an act. Her lips twitched a bit. "Did you just openly admit to watching Teletubbies? Concerning." Had her experiences in the daycare not existed the concern might have been real; however, life in the classroom of a handful of four and five-year olds tended to lead one to experience shows they would never watch otherwise. "Fortunately, my friend, you don't have to choose. You win, you get it all." Food and all. Burger King was by no means expensive and Lark had the money. She was not beyond holding up her end of the deal. A small laugh passed her lips at his comment; Pacey was a really nice guy and fun to be around. Having friends like him made life more bearable and happy. The burger disappeared rather quickly, Lark still watching as he unwrapped the second one. Her eyebrow twitched upwards. "I'm not scared of anything, Pace. You can be sure of that." She pointed a finger in his direction and proceeded to eat more food. Everyone had their fears, but fortunately Lark took great lengths to ensure no one could visibly witness hers. Feeling vulnerable was usually the last thing anyone wanted to do.

"Nope, absolutely hate it Pace," Lark lied effortlessly, eating her food as though stating her dislike for a group she actually loved was as easy as chewing on a fry. "You guys totally forced me to switch over and put up with all of you crazy as fuck Earths...and the damned Waters too." And as an afterthought, added, "And Ashton forced me to date him and I'm completely and totally miserable." She pointed at Pacey with a straight finger, as though accusing him directly for her now being a traitor. Nah, no regrets. Lark did not like to live with regrets. She had everything she wanted and needed and contentment was nestled in her heart for what felt like would be a lifetime. She finally smirked and broke the facade. "Oho, feeling a bit cocky today aren't we? I guess it's okay though because if you weren't epic I wouldn't have you around me. Gotta have the right atmosphere y'know." An atmosphere of epic proportions. Lark had to admit that her repertoire of friends was quite amazing and she would not trade them for anything in the world.

Sock gnomes. What a genius excuse for misplacing socks! It was too bad that she lived in the dorms now; if her parents were still together and she lived at home that would be a great way to explain why none of the socks had their sockmates. "I wish I could get away with that," Lark replied wistfully, glancing out the window. "But I'd probably look crazy if I told myself that gnomes stole my socks. Then again...being crazy isn't so bad." It meant you weren't normal, and all that good stuff. What was life if everyone were the exact same? Boring, stuffy, and mundane.

She passed him a mischievous smile. "I'm a master at picking locks, you know," The girl warned lightly. "You'll never know what hit you. I might be your little stalker, knowing your dorm room and everything." She gave him a faint little wink and returned to her food again as though nothing had ever been said. That would be ultimately creepy, to stalk your friends to that extent. There was the basic 'what's your number?' and stuff but following them around? A bit too far. "Don't you think it would be a bit weird to draw porn on a stranger's face? I think it'd be better if done on a friend. They would be more understanding." She said this seriously, nodding to affirm her words. No matter who it was, it would be severely awkward to walk up to anyone any say 'yo, can I draw a penis on your face?' or, well, ask to draw anything on anyone's face. She knew a few people who would probably laugh about it and do something for fun but maybe not to the extreme extent of porn.

With a finger pressed to her lips, she closed one eye and then picked at a few more fries. Even if Pacey did take a liking to Teletubbies or any other child show it was no business of hers. She liked Pacey; he was a good guy, any possibly odd quirks aside. "Your secret is safe with me, brah." Lips sealed, key tossed away and all that good stuff. She chuckled. "Yeah, lucky for you." Before her job, money was hard to come by on her own and doing things for her friends were few and far between. It felt nice having the ability to have these sorts of fun games without going broke or feeling monetarily insufficient. "It's gonna suck big time when your stomach rejects all of this and you're stuck in the bathroom for hours, huh?" Fast food did have the tendency to cause upset stomach; that is, unless you're immune to the excess grease and fat layered on top of every menu item available. "Unless you have a stomach of steel, that is." She flashed him a small smile before finishing off her own sandwich and sitting back in her chair. Watching Pacey eat was almost as fulfilling as eating her own food. Almost.