wallflower {open

[elise]

The mess hall, in all her years at the academy Elise had never really figured out how to navigate it without looking like a freshman. Enter awkwardly, tray in hands, look around in vain hopes to find a group that would be amiable if she were to sit with them, and after a few moments sit at an empty table at the fringe of the room in defeat. It was a process that Elise had gone through every single day of her life since starting at this school, and today proved to not be any different. After standing awkwardly a moment, pretending to scan the crowd and then look disappointed at not seeing anyone familiar, Elise admitted defeat to herself yet again. She settled down at her favourite table, the one wedged in the rear corner, taking the chair that had her back against the wall.

Elise liked to have this vantage point, it was a wallflower's dream, really- to have a spot that was just out of the way enough to not call attention to oneself; but still close enough to the action to see what was going on. Granted, not much "went on" in the mess hall, standard high school stuff. Sometimes fights broke out, and those were interesting enough to watch, though it wasn't that often. Elise sighed lightly, poking at her macaroni and cheese with the tines of her fork, though not eating it just yet. The cheesy goodness was still belching giant clouds of steam, it was too hot to even attempt to eat. Though for the time being, she was content to watch the general activities of the room. That was perhaps the only perk of her social ineptitude- she could amuse herself indefinitely just by watching other people, attempting to figure out their actions.

Elise had actually developed a bit of a knack for reading people, body language and such. She liked the challenge of it. Sometimes people were simply puzzles that needed to be figured out. But what she had not been anticipating, was to be approached, and given her luck she was looking in the other direction, brought out of her observations by the sound of a tray being set on the table. Mildly flinching, Elise turned to look at...

[blake]

A large mountain of a boy turned away from the food line and surveyed the cafeteria lay out. 'A full house today,' the Thunder thought. It was fine with him as long as his table was free. His face fell as his eyes landed on said table, filled with twelfth year Waters having a good time. This was not okay in Blake's mind. As he stood motionless and tray in hand, Blake Logan thought of all the ways he could physically remove each and everyone of those annoying idiots who felt the need to fill up his normal location. He thought he had made it pretty clear to the annoying Waters that he was not a fan of them and willing to prove it time and time again.

Normally Blake wouldn't let a couple of idiots from the Water Dorm slide so easily, but they had a good number of people. The Thunder was pissed off, but not stupid. A fight in the middle of the mess hall without any of his buddies would cause Blake to look like a complete loser and he had to pick his battles carefully. If his father heard that he was causing trouble then he might find a way to make Blake's life a living hell here at school. So far the academy was his one save haven and he didn't need his old man pulling some strings to change that. He made a mental note of each one of the intruder's faces and cataloged it in his mind. They would get what was coming for them in the future.

No table seemed to be completely open as Blake stood by the food line still like some unexperienced fresh meat. The only table that didn't seem over crowded was one in the back corner. There was only one person. Some space cadet not paying attention to the approaching boy. "Good," he thought "At least we can ignore each other in peace." The Thunder pushed the chair back with his foot and collapsed into place, slamming his tray down harder than he anticipated. "Great, now she'll turn around." Sure enough the girl did, but for once Blake was caught off guard. The girl was pretty in his opinion, pretty enough to be remembered her thought. Why hadn't he seen her around? Now he felt bad for startling her. "That whole table over there is filled with Waters, and it's were I usually sit."he said, nodded his head towards one of the rowdier tables. Blake poked at his salad and stuffed a large bit of leafy greens in his mouth. As he was chewing he did his best not to look at the girl as he ate. Personally he wanted to be alone and finally felt bad that he had probably just ruined he girl's own version of alone time. "If I'm bothering you I can leave once I finish this salad, but it looked like you weren't really down for the whole social thing so I figured you were my safest bet."

[elise]

In her observations, which had absently been directed at a group of tenth grade fires cackling loudly amongst themselves, she hadn't realized hers was the only table with room. Elise couldn't help the instinctive crinkle of her nose. No, she did not have the ingrained bias that the water or earth students might have toward the fires, though Elise hadn't had many good experience with them. Most of them just tended to rub her the wrong way. Not that any of them would ever know that, of course. Elise was too quiet, the vast majority of her opinions stayed to herself, quite deep down, too. 'Twas the fate of the social recluse, she supposed. She had never really been comfortable voicing her opinions, anyway. Perhaps she was just too non-confrontational. Though when she looked up at a physically massive boy in her grade, her expression had returned to neutral.

Of course, it was a bit rude of him to just plop himself down without even asking, though Elise wasn't about to complain. It wasn't as if there was anywhere else for him to sit, anyway. She pondered a moment, attempting to place a name, though she came up empty. Elise wasn't too good with names, anyway- she figured it had something to do with having English as a second language. Elise already had enough thinking to do, having to translate things in her mind before speaking, there certainly wasn't room for storing the names of people she might share a class or two with, but not spend any time with otherwise. Though she knew that she knew his face, she had seen him before- likely several times over the past few years. Elise only nodded at his explanation for sitting at her table uninvited, having never been one for unnecessary words.

She took a tentative portion of macaroni, spearing a single noodle with the outermost tine of her fork. After nibbling on it, she decided that she would just be cautious with the remainder, eat from the edges first. She looked back at the boy when he spoke, unable to deny to herself that he was fairly attractive. "No, it is all right, I don't mind," said Elise, offering a small smile, and thankfully did not fumble over her words. Her voice still did hold a light accent, the remainder of her strong German roots, though over the years it had gotten better. Though it was still there, and likely wouldn't ever go completely away.

[blake]

Her stare was actually making Blake uncomfortable. There was no sort of indicator of what she may be thinking right now. He unscrewed the top to his water bottle and chugged back some water. The Thunder's eyes drifted over towards where she had been looking before he had entered. A group of younger fire students seemed to be giving each other a hard time, all in the name of fun. He couldn't help the smirk that now played across his lips. See, at least fire's knew how to joke around with each other. Waters seemed to target everyone with their over optimistic ideas and pranks.

Blake couldn't help but feel the girl's eyes still on him. He looked back at her and was surprised that she was receptive to him. Hell, she had even cracked a smile in his direction. He soften up his expression and figured he might as well make an effort. "Sorry, I guess I didn't learn etiquette that well. My mother would be ashamed of me right now," he chuckled. "I'm Blake Logan. I'm a twelfth year..." He squinted at bit as if it would help him place a name to her face better. The Thunder could have sworn he had seen her around before. "You are too, aren't you?"

He took another bite of his food as he searched his memory. Where had he seen he before? Clearly she wasn't the type of girl who went out to parties...unless she was some sort of secret party-goer like him. 'Nah,' he thought, she seemed way too clean cut. Frustrated that he couldn't come up with an answer he moved onto a new subject."Do you usually eat alone?" Blake thought it was a innocent enough question. He had been one for a little self reflection every now and then and meals proved to be the perfect time. Maybe she was waiting for her friends to join her and now he was taking up their spots. Blake looked side to side, "Or are more people coming?"

[elise]

Elise absently pushed her macaroni around with her fork, having never been one to shovel down food, even when it was really good. It must be the German in her, she supposed. Meals at home were always leisurely, spending at least two hours at dinner when her father was in town, sometimes three or more when they had company. Dishes would be spaced out, the gaps filled with wine, coffee, beer, or espresso and conversation. Her parents and their friends would have cigarettes, and while Elise wasn't terribly fond of the smell of smoke, she had come to appreciate long dinners, especially since starting at the academy and every meal seemed to have some sort of time limit to it. Classes had to be attended, the mess hall closed fairly early in the evening, everybody always seemed in such a rush when it came to eating.

Elise continued to watch the boy whose name she couldn't remember for the life of her, in an almost analytical way. She couldn't really help it, she liked to figure people out, check herself out of the equation to better evaluate what others were like. She listened as he spoke, nodding along where it was appropriate. Blake Logan. The name seemed familiar, but only vaguely so. Perhaps it had been deep in the recesses of her mind, unconnected to a face. But now that there was a connection there,perhaps she might be able to recall it. Though more likely, she would end up forgetting again. "Yes," said Elise, nodding when Blake asked if she was also a twelfth year, "I am, um, Elise Von Beyer." There she was again, fumbling over her words, and speaking perhaps just a bit too softly to be heard clearly. Unless, that was, Blake was actually paying attention.

Silence had settled over them a brief moment, Elise took it as an opportunity to sip her iced tea. Thankfully, she was not required to pick a topic, as her newfound companion was first to speak. Elise nodded, not realizing until then how pathetic it really was, to eat alone day after day. She wasn't even sure how many real friends she had. Sure, there were people that she hung out with, enjoyed spending time with, but if they really were her friends, why was she so routinely alone? "Nobody else is coming," said Elise, attempting to swallow her accent- she really was a bit self-conscious of it- "it will probably just be you and I."

[blake]

Von Beyer. Not an very common name around these halls. Her name did help Blake remember where he had seen her before though. "Well, it's nice to meet you Elise. I think we may have had History class together last year." What Blake really wanted to figure out was what element she was. God help him if she was an Earth or Water or else he's walk right out. He didn't care how nice she was being, his deep rooted hatred for the two elements always came first. He'd have to think of a crafty way to draw it out from her. It would be a shame if he had to walk away from such a pretty girl he managed to get alone with.

There was something about her voice that sounded a bit off. Most of the Academy was flooded with kids from Canada and the United States. Every so often Blake ran into a kid with a typical US southern accent or a thick New York one. People thought Blake had an accent from time to time, but if he grew up in Maple Hollow, than he considered himself the native. Everyone else was the outsider in his mind. "Are from around here?" he pointed his fork in Elise's direction. It came out before Blake even had time to think it through. He couldn't put his finger on where Elise may have picked up her accent. Maybe if he could get her to open up more he might get more clues.

He nodded along with Elise as she spoke up. She was a person of few words, much like himself. "Good," Catching his mistake, Blake abandoned the food he was just about to eat and cast Elise a pleading look. "Not that you don't-" "Easy there Blake," he caught himself before he let what he really wanted to say slip. He almost accused her of not having friends to join her. "What I mean is..." Blake was crashing and burning so far. "Pull yourself together man," he coached himself. Casting Elise a sad sort of smile, more disappointed in his fumbling than anything else, he offered her the only words he could think of. "There is no need to surround yourself with people all the time. Then they just become accessories or something in your life rather than people you enjoy spending time with. You know what I mean? I hate when people can 'tjust enjoy time on their own," He ran his free hand through his hair and shook his head. "Maybe I should just shut up and then I won't sound like an idiot," he joked.

[elise]

Elise casually prodded at her macaroni and cheese, taking her dear sweet time with it. She supposed if she had been eager to eat in the first place she might have just used a bit of breeze to cool it down. She didn't even really have to create a wind current, the movement of the people in the room generated enough disturbance in the air where all she need do was channel it. Though for the time being, laziness had prevailed. Besides, she didn't often use her powers for frivolous things. Really, she didn't do much with them outside of class, it wasn't as if playing with the breezes was actually all that useful, at least not in her mind. "The pleasure is mine," said Elise, offering another small smile as she reflected on her eleventh grade schedule, trying to remember if she had seen Blake before, "yes, I think we did. Your face is familiar."

Elise felt a certain warmness in her cheeks, she just hoped that she wasn't blushing. She was just so terrible at all these social things, having never really found her footing since the move from Germany when she was ten. Too uncomfortable to maintain eye contact, Elise directed her gaze down to her tray. It was a simple lunch, like always, macaroni and cheese with a side of fruit salad, and she had grabbed a brownie with a peanut butter swirl. She liked to have a little bit of sweet in her life. "Um, no," said Elise when Blake asked if she was from around the area, "I'm, um, from Berlin originally. I live in Lévis now." She figured he had picked up on her accent, it was mostly German in nature, though there were odd bits and pieces, mostly because she was in a predominantly French-speaking town when not at school, and had been for nearly seven years.

Elise quietly ate her macaroni, every so often looking up at Blake, though never holding his gaze for more than a second or two. She felt herself beginning to feel a glimmer of... What was it? Hope perhaps? It seemed that Blake wasn't much better at this whole socialization thing as she was, or perhaps he was skirting around what he really wanted to say. Elise wasn't quite sure, she'd have to observe him some more. She smiled a bit. "It is all right, I understand," said Elise, looking up briefly to give him another smile, and in branching out for her standards, started a new topic, "where are, um, you from?"

[blake]

Elise must have really been dozing off and spacing out in History last year is she remembered him. The Thunder teen usually sat all the way in the back so the teacher would be less likely to notice him. Most of the class probably assumed that Blake was just a typical meat head who barely coasted by in academics. "Let them think that," he thought. What they didn't know was that Blake aced almost every test and his homework was inspected with an eagle like precession before the boy even considered turning it in. The closet nerd was completely satisfied with taking a hit on his class participation grade if it meant his image was still intact.

During one of his pervious summers Blake had gone back packing through Europe for two weeks. Along the way he had spent about a day and a half in Elise's hometown. When he was there he enjoyed the views, but his German came mostly from the little travel book he was carrying around. Regardless, he was still shocked to see someone at the academy from so far away. "Berlin Germany?" It came out as a question, as if Blake didn't know where or what she was speaking of. Now that was way cooler than any stateside kid he had ever met. The fact that he couldn't understand where her accent came from sort of made sense to Blake now. German and French were so different. Elise must have had a tough time with the relocation. "Did you experience any culture shock when you first moved to Lévis? Lévis has a pretty high population of older citizens. It must get lonely sometimes without a little youth," There was also the troubling fact that the population of Lévis mostly spoke French. How they hell did Elise adjust from such a harsh language to one that seemed to flow so seamlessly? "Don't tell me you know French as well as English and German now?" he teased.

"Me?" he questioned. Blake was much more interested in learning about Elsie now. Her life sounded like an adventure compared to the boy's. "Born and raised in Maple's Hollow," Academy and Elemental life had been no surprise to the Thunder. He lived in a rather large house, borderline mansion, with his mother while his father was always away on business deals. The one drawback to the town was that there was only one road out. He hadn't traveled much, spare the few times he went away on vacation. Blake spent most of his quiet boring life in this town. "Not really as cool as your story," he said smiling towards her. She had got him thinking about traveling now. There were loads of places Blake had never been before. Elise was the same age as him and already has been on the move way more times than himself.

[elise]

Elise wondered where this social interaction might be going. For someone so gifted with language, Elise really did not know how to conduct herself, especially not around peers. It was a bit better when she was talking with adults, but anyone in her age bracket, forget it. And while Blake did appear intimidating because of his size, the awkwardness that he had displayed was a bit comforting for Elise. Perhaps she wasn't the only one who really didn't know what to do with herself in social settings. During the brief silence, Elise took a few more bites of her macaroni and take a long sip of her tea. It was still lunch, after all, and she definitely didn't have the time that she would prefer in which to eat it.

Elise nodded when Blake asked if she had meant Germany. Really, she wasn't sure if there was a "Berlin" in any other country, or at least not one that was terribly prominent. Perhaps it was only because of her odd mashed up accent that he had asked. She nodded when Blake mentioned culture shock. It had certainly been a change. Elise had learned a great deal of English at school back in Germany, but only a little French. And then with the way that Lévis' population was skewed... It had been an adjustment for sure. Though Elise was a resilient person, the language barrier had certainly been difficult. "Definitely," said Elise, agreeing to both the culture shock and the loneliness. There were young people in Lévis, they were simply outnumbered, and Elise was too withdrawn for her own good to befriend any of them.

"I, um, only know enough to get by," said Elise, "I've, um, been told that I, um, sound like a tourist." She smiled sheepishly. Her parents were certainly more adept at their third language than she. Elise nodded as Blake explained that he had been in Maple Hollow all his life. In a way, she almost envied that, she knew how radically different her life would be if they had never moved from Berlin... Though before she could voice anything of the sort, Blake had gone on to compliment her, saying that she sounded interesting. Nobody had ever really said something of the sort to her. Elise felt herself blush, though she had no idea what to say, or even what to feel. She supposed she should be flattered...

[blake]

Blake watched her as she simply nodded along with him, his smirk growing the longer she remained silent. He like a person who was careful with what they say. He was hoping that was the reason Elise was remaining so quiet and laid back. As the Wind student picked at her food, Blake followed suit, keep his eyes trained on the girl. Her movements were quiet, not over the top in any way. It was almost as if she was trying to draw as little attention to herself as possible, which was a shame. What would he have done if he hadn't run into this girl? She may not have been doing anything different from her normal routine, but so far Elise was cheering him up. The Thunder almost silently thanked the water idiots for taking his usual spot.

As Blake noticed the slight blush the girl had, he grinned. 'Now that's pretty damn cute,' he thought. He propped both of his massive arms up on the table and rested his chin in his hands. Blake definitely took notice on how good looking Elise was, and was slowly starting to find her little shy quirks to be quite adorable. There was just one big problem though. Elise did not look like the type who was down for a casual affair. Now Blake may be a bit insensitive, but he didn't go around purposely trying to break girl's hearts. He wasn't going to get involved with a girl if she was going to get way too into commitment. Sadly Elise seemed too shy to probably even notice how good looking she was.

Spending all of his life in Canada, Blake himself had a pretty good grasp on the French language. His mother had encouraged him to speak it in the house when he was younger. He hadn't actively used the language since he entered the Academy though. *"Puis-je entendre quelques-uns?"* he asked. The Thunder offered the girl a friendly smile, hoping to show her that he meant no harm. It was not his intention for the girl to feel as if he was trying to make fun of her. "Please?" he begged in English, hoping to charm a little more conversation out of Elise. "I'll let you make fun of the one German phrase I know if you do."

*"Can I hear some?"*