*POKE* YOU BUSY? (TORI)

[JAKE CHRISTIAN CAMERON]

Jake was bored. Bored of tests, bored of studying for tests, bored of homework, bored of the biased teachers, basically bored of the academy. So bored, in fact, that the moment they were dismissed from the last class at the end of the day, he decided to get away from it all. Unfortunately, the weekend was still far away, so he couldn't go very far. Fortunately, he knew exactly where to go. The cliffs.

He went there often. When he needed to think, when he needed to be alone, when he needed to get some work done without disturbances, and sometimes, when he needed to get away from it all, like right now. The moment they were dismissed, without bothering to drop his backpack back at the dorms, he made his way to the cliffs.

Thank goodness for the earth students who had the sense to make a trail leading up the cliffs. He sure as hell wouldn't have risked breaking his neck every time he wanted to go there. With that thought, backpack slung over one shoulder, he carefully made his way up the cliff. In some places, the trail was slippery, and one could easily slip and fall off the cliff. Jake, who was not very fond of heights, shuddered at the thought.

Finally, out of breath, he reached the top of the cliff. He backed away from the edge, not wishing to slip off and die a horrible death before he turned nineteen, until he reached a wall far enough from the edge, where he sat down and admired the view. It was quite beautiful actually, and even though he had seen it many times, it never failed to take his breath away. He could see everything. From the lake, all the way to the academy and the wilderness around it.

Speaking of beautiful.. it was a shame no one else was there to enjoy the view, but that gave him an idea.

He took out his phone and started tapping away at the keys.


*poke* You busy? I'm here at the cliffs, and the view is pretty good, if you're interested.


He searched the contacts until he found the name Tori and sent it. Leaning back against the wall, he closed his eyes and waited.

[/size][/justify]

[serenityvictoria]

Victoria sighed as she went throughout another day of school. It was becoming such a blur to her at this point. She didn't know what was really happening through out the day and she could not get herself to focus. She knew what she needed was a break; but how do you take one in the middle of the week without anywhere to go?

She sighed as she went inbetween classes, loathing the teachers and how hypocritical they were. They spoke about how all powers were equal when it was obvious that even they thought of their powers as the best and favored those of the same element.

Tori's mind kept traveling in and out of random topics. Like her family, like Em, like water, then Jake, then back to her family and her loathing for water. She just didn't understand anything in her life and she was very close to a mental breakdown, which again brought up the idea of an escape, but where?

When the final bell came Tori was more then quick about getting out of class. She made her way through the students and back to her dorm quickly with a big plop on her bed. Rolling over she checked her phone; nothing. She rolled over again just as her ringtone began going off, Girl I want you to know, I can't get you out of my head, my head, my head. Girl I want you to know I don't even kn- After enjoying the song for just a few moments Tori grabbed her phone to view the message. She felt herself instantly smile when she saw that it was from Jake.

She read his text and her smile grew, she knew Jake well enough to know that he always went to the cliffs to be alone. Tori couldn't help but not to get excited at the fact that he had picked her to spend time with at his thinking place. She put her fingers on her keyboard as she came up with a clever reply

*poke* Sure, I'll be right there She scolded herself for not thinking of anything more clever but it worked. She looked at herself in the mirror and decided she liked what she was wearing. Skinny jeans, converse, and a fitted long sleeve grey shirt, with a long necklace that had a heart and a key, she figured she was good enough to go. She hurried off towards the cliffs in complete bliss.

When she came close she began to slow her pace as she walked up the path toward the top of the cliff. She was still going a little faster then she needed to, but she felt awkward being waited on. As she reached the top she smiled to herself triumphantly, and when she saw Jake her smile only grew more. She ignored the fact that her heart was beating faster then it normally did, she ignored that she now wished she wore something a little cuter, she ignored the butterflies in her stomach that erupted. Why? Because he would never give her a chance and she couldn't admit ever that she was crazy about him.

"Hey you, she finally said to him "What brings you here?"

[/blockquote][/font][/size]

[JAKE CHRISTIAN CAMERON]

Jake opened his eyes when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Being the good student that he was, he always kept his phone on vibrate. Okay, maybe he wasn't good all the time, but he tried, and that's what mattered, right? He smiled when he saw that it was Tori. He had been afraid that she would be busy, too busy to check her phone, but she proved his fears wrong. Putting his phone back in his pocket, he closed his eyes once again and waited, his thoughts drifting back to the past.

He met Tori last year. She had been a freshman, and he, a sophomore. And being a sophomore then, he was already used to daily life at the academy. He could tell what element a person was from just by looking at them. Fire elementals had a certain glow about them. Thunder elementals gave of some electricity every now and then. Wind elementals always looking like they had just gone through a hurricane. Earth elementals-- you could smell them from a mile away. And of course, he always recognized his fellow water elementals. Mmost of the time, he was right. Which is why he had been confused when a pretty little thunder elemental approached him one day and started talking to him. He hadn't minded though. He wasn't one to judge people by their elements. As long as they weren't trying to kill him, he was okay with them.

Over time, they had become friends. Close friends, actually. Then she started to avoid him. He had no idea why. It was killing him to think that he might have said something, or done something to offend her. Finally, he approached her and talked to her, about nothing in particular, really. For some reason, after that, everything went back to normal again.

A voice brought his attention back to the present. He opened his eyes again and saw Tori standing nearby.

"There you are, m'lady. You're looking pretty, as usual" he winked at her.

Reaching in his backpack, he grabbed two bags of plastic. "Why, what else, but the smell of brownies?"

He handed one of the bags to her, before opening his own bag and taking a bite of the warm brownie inside. He knew a fellow water elemental who baked, and seeing as he was close to all his fellow water students, he had asked him to make him some brownies, which he gladly did. They were fantastic.

He patted the space beside him. "Take a seat and enjoy the view. And the brownie, of course."

[/size][/justify]

[serenityvictoria]

Tori had to focus on not letting her face flush when he greeted her, but it take all self control not to burst into a smile as he winked. She had to settle for catching her breath with a quick recovery. Regaining her confidence and composure with an eye roll, she replied with "Why thank you kind sir, you look quite handsome yourself." She added a sweet smile at the end of her sentence.

Momentarily she locked glances with Jake, and a flashback popped into her mind. She was walking with Emilia down the hall way at the same time Jake was from the other direction. By this time Emilia and Tori had just become best friends, so Em naturally had no idea of Tori's secret crush on Jake. Emilia promptly said that she hoped that her brother was close with him, considering they were both water elements. Tori couldn't breathe for a moment, she took a step backwards and turned the other direction. She hadn't been sure where she was going but she knew she had to leave school for that day. It wasn't that she had cried or anything, but the shock that she allowed herself to become so close, so fascinated, over a water element, it was too much to deal with.

Her mind fast forwarded to the day Jake finally made an inescapable route after a few weeks of completely avoiding him. He didn't ask her what was wrong, or why she had been so weird lately, he started speaking of some random topic and Tori realized that she could not hate Jake even if he was of the water element. In fact, she realized, that she still liked him. She decided to push her prejudice aside even if meant sometimes reliving the past.

Jake's voice brought her back just in time from having to think about the past. A tiny giggle escaped her lips as she saw him bring out two bags of brownies from his back pack. Tori wasn't very surprised he had food with him; it was Jake after all. Tori took the bag quickly, just in case he changed his mind "Thank you" She smiled sweetly at him yet again after she took her first bite of the brownie. "This is really good! Compliments to the chef" Obviously Tori knew there was no way he made them, as far as Tori was aware, he wasn't a great cook. Then again, she could be wrong, she never had tried anything he made.

Yet again she was caught off guard by him gesturing her to sit down beside him. She took a step towards him while listening to his words. Another tiny chuckle escaped her lips as she shook her head while taking her seat beside him. "Not a bad idea Her eyes looked over at him once again, but quickly looked away. She couldn't, no wouldn't allow herself to get weak kneed while she was with him right now. She focused on the sights ahead of her and the beauty which their campus was.

[/font][/blockquote][/size]

[JAKE CHRISTIAN CAMERON]

"Thou art most welcome, m'lady." Jake said, trying to thicken the renaissance accent, but ended up chuckling at the end.

It was sad that he couldn't talk to her as freely when they were in public. Interaction of any sort between their two elements was greatly frowned upon, and there was a chance that he would lose his position if the water elementals found out that he had a friend from both fire and thunder. Honestly, sometimes even he couldn't believe it. Fire elementals had almost killed him once, and yet he was friends with their former leader. He was also close friends with one of the 'dreaded' thunder students. But never once in his life at the academy did he regret becoming friends with Tori.

It was kind of sad that people were judged by their element above everything else. But sadly, that's the way the school worked. You could either accept it or leave.

The moment their blue eyes met, he thought, "Wow, she really is pretty.". That was one of the joys of having a close friend of the opposite sex. When you told them how nice they looked, they would think you were just joking.

He moved a little, so that she would have some more space to sit. He saw that she had some crumbs on her lip, and he had the urge to wipe them off with his hand, but that urge was quickly repressed. "Get a grip on yourself." he thought to himself. They were friends, close friends even, but nothing more. But even he couldn't deny the way his heart beat faster when she was around, the butterflies in his stomach that came along when ever she did, the way her blue eyes drew him to her like a moth to a flame. He pushed those thoughts aside. Friends didn't get crushes on one another. Crushes ruined friendships, and he liked having her as a friend.

He leaned his head back against the wall and admired the view. At that moment, he was completely and utterly content just to sit with her in silence, listening to her breathing, and admiring the view with her.

[/size][/justify]

[serenityvictoria]

Tori couldn't help but not to laugh a little louder that time at his disastrous attempt at a renaissance accent. Finally when getting a grip of herself she shooked her head, "Never get a job relating to the Renaissance Her smile was still visible for a few more moments, until she slowly let it fade.

Victoria thought about how well they got along and took a silent breath, she was happy to be able to be this close with him even if not everyone could know it. He was the water leader after all, and he couldn't just go and befriend everyone that he was against. Tori still couldn't believe she ever allowed it, but this was a friendship she couldn't make herself give up. Even though she was one of those thunder students who were completely against water students, she was still happy to have him as a friend. Even though sometimes it made her upset thinking about her family, he always distracted her thoughts and cheered her up unknowingly. She could never give up that kind of friendship with him, not because of some rivalry, no matter how loyal she was to thunder.

After sitting down, she seemed to see a hesitation of some sort from Jake, but she didn't push it. She wondered fearfully if she had sat too close to him, and was considering moving away. Then again, she liked the distance from him, if he wanted to move then he would. Her heart was racing a little more then usual with them being such a short distance away. She looked up into his eyes again, blue just like hers but so much better. She always wondered how someone could be so attractive. His eyes alone made him better looking than anyone she had met, but the rest of his features also. Again she had to tear her eyes away from him or she'd be in a frenzie of butterflies and may lose control over her actions. She silently sighed to herself, he saw her as nothing more then a friend. He was the hottest junior and she was just some sophomore, there was no way he'd ever see her as more then a friend. Tori happily clung on to the dream of what might have been, leaving her ideas for anything more then friendship in her dreams.

As he leaned his head back she again resisted the urge to rest her head against his shoulder. She started to go for it but quickly changed course and put it against the wall next to his. She welcomed the silence with ease, feeling completely comfortable with not having to speak around him. That was another thing Tori loved, they could just sit in silence and not have it be awkward, in fact it felt close to perfect, like this was how things should be. Without thinking, a smile spread across her lips as a single thought crossed her mind 'Hanging with him, it's easy, it's right'

Tori knew that if they stayed to be close friends, she would be content. Tori also knew she had to keep sushing up the voice in the back of her head telling her that being more would be bliss.

[/font][/size]

[JAKE CHRISTIAN CAMERON]

Jake pretended to look hurt. "What, I'm not good at it?"

He noticed at the side of his vision that her head was starting to lean towards him, and he braced himself to support her weight, heart racing faster than ever. He was disappointed when it stopped to lean on the wall next to him, but he didn't let it show. He mentally kicked himself for expecting her to do something like that. They were just friends. The sooner he accepted that, the better.

Not for the first time, he wished that she were one of them. A water elemental. It would make things so much easier. They wouldn't have to go all the way to the cliffs just to have a conversation. And even though they would only be friends, even though nothing more would happen between them.. At least nobody would give them hell for being friends.

Somewhere far away, music started playing. He had no idea where it came from, but it didn't really matter. It was the slow, classical kind. The kind people danced to. With that thought, Jake pushed himself up, leaving the unfinished brownie in it's plastic bag on the floor. He brushed the crumbs off his lap before he held his hand out to Tori. " Could I have this dance m'lady?" he asked, persisting on the renaissance accent, just for the heck of it. The spot they were in was big enough to dance around, so there was little danger of falling off the cliff.

[/size][/justify]

[serenityvictoria]

Tori shook her head and smiled at Jake, "I couldn't do any better" It was the nicest thing, that was completely honest she could think to say. Her smile was bright at the thought of Jake being a knight from Medevil Times or something, trying to talk like he was from the Renaissance.

Tori felt her thoughts drift in the silence, thinking about how much different things would be if she was a water element like her parents wanted, expected. People would still call her Serenity instead of having to go by Victoria, her parents would love her still, in fact she might actually talk to them instead of the occasional conversation during holiday. Her parents might still be together, her little sisters wouldn't blame everything on her. They might actually be a functional, happy, perfect family. She'd be able to be closer to Jake, instead of talking in secret. Being a thunder was the worst thing that happened to her, but she loved being a thunder. She loved the element she possessed and besides losing her family; she didn't despise having her element one bit.

Tears were forming in her eyes as she thought about everything when Tori heard Jake speak again. She moved the tears back and watched him as he stood up over her. When the words he spoke reached her ears, she sat for a moment processing them. She sat her brownie down next to her, whipping any crumbs off her lap or mouth, and stood up still not exactly sure how to reply. Shyly, she looked down at her feet, allowing her cheeks to be pink only for a moment. Biting her bottom lip she looked back up and met his eyes as she spoke, "You may, m'lord" In the back of her mind she scolded herself for two reasons: The first being that she had a horrible imitation, and the second that she just said 'm'lord' Tori wasn't positive if people actually called males that but she knew she heard it before and thought it worth a try. Taking a deep, silent breath she braced herself to dance with him.

[/font][/size]

[JAKE CHRISTIAN CAMERON]

Jake studied her for a moment. She looked haunted by... something. Her past, maybe. And were those tears in her eyes? He couldn't be sure. Now that he thought about it, he knew little about her past. But he wasn't one to pry. He would tell her about it when she was ready. And when she did, he'd be there to comfort her, if indeed it was her past that was bothering her.

He chuckled when she blushed. It was too cute.

Taking her hand in his, he pulled her a little closer. Gently, of course. He put one hand on her side, and the other on her shoulder, and started leading her around, doing a slow dance. Honestly, he didn't know how to dance. Ever heard of on the job training? It sort of described what he was doing at the moment. He was careful not to step on her foot, and he checked constantly to see whether they drifted too near the edge. It would be just like him to start the moment and then ruin it by having them both fall off the edge of the cliff and dying gruesomely.

His heart was pounding so wildly that he swore Tori could hear it.

After what seemed like a few minutes, it started to snow. He looked up, and was shocked to see that the sun was gone, replaced by a not so full moon. Had it really been that long? He sighed sadly. They would have t leave soon. But he didn't want to end their short meeting. He wanted to stay there, with her, forever.

The setting was so cliche that anybody else would have laughed out loud. But if you were in that situation, you wouldn't think of how cliche it was. He was only thinking of that moment, that brief moment in time, when there was only him and her and nothing else, and everything was absolutely perfect.

[/size][/justify]

[serenityvictoria]

When Victoria met his eyes again she knew he saw the pain in her eyes. She could have told him everything, right then and there, it would have been perfect. Yet she stopped herself, she didn't want to be that whiny girl who cried over something that was nothing. Besides, they were about to dance, how could she let herself ruin a perfectly good moment like this?

She heard him laugh at her, not in a mean way of course, as she blushed and had to concentrate so she wouldn't blush more. She'd never been like this, of course she had a couple of relationships before high school but they never got serious. In high school though? So far she'd been way too into Jake to even consider another guy. The feelings she had for Jake were so much different then she was used to, but she kind of liked it.

Her heart skipped a beat and her breath caught when he took her hand. She looked up at him, being so much shorter, and gave him a tiny, sweet smile. It felt good to be so close to him, she loved the way he smelled. Tori felt kind of creepy for thinking it, but she did, a lot. As he twirled her around and danced slowly, it became apparent that he had no planned dance going on, but she enjoyed the dance they were making, it was better then any dance that was considered good or perfect. Tori had to keep herself from giggling as every now and then she noticed his eyes check around, as though scared they would fall at any moment.

Her heart was beating so fast it seemed unreal, she became self conscious as though he would notice her pulse quickening.

She felt something on her head and she tilted her head back to look up. Snow was beginning to fall down, around the both of them. Tori couldn't help it, she let a laugh escape her lips. Everything was just so perfect, this moment, this dance, this view, Jake. The only thing wrong with it was that they were just friends, and Tori had to accept it would never be more. Tori heard him sigh, sadly, and looked up at him. What was wrong, was another girl, the one he really liked, on his mind? Was he wishing she was her? "Is everything ok?" Tori knew she'd regret asking the question, but she had to be sure didn't she? She checked his eyes, searching them for some kind of answer, but as usual she saw nothing. Tori just could not figure him out for the life of her, but she was so determined to.

Everything felt like a fairytale, simply because it probably was. They were living right out of a story book it would seem, but Tori didn't care. It was perfect, her heart was fast but slow it seemed and she couldn't get control of her butterflies. At that moment there was a complete peace, a blissful perfect around them. She looked up into his eyes once again wanting to tell him how she felt, but looked back down again knowing she couldn't. She almost kicked herself for ruining another perfect moment. What is wrong with me today? Get control! Or this moment will be gone forever

[/i] Tori looked up at Jake yet again, loving the fact he was so tall and she felt so protected when he was around. She looked at his face and admired him, letting her thoughts stay at admiration. Her eyes landed on his lips and she felt her heart jump, she had to move her eyes away before she did something she would definitely regret.

Again Victoria considered placing her head against his chest, if they were dancing how bad could it be? She would be able to listen to his slow and steady heartbeat, since obviously his had no reason to be racing, yet decided against it. Not for fear of anything, but for the reason alone that she loved to look into his eyes. [/center][/font][/size]

[JAKE CHRISTIAN CAMERON]

The smile Tori gave him almost broke his heart. To be so close, and yet so far.. he now knew how it felt. She was right there. He was holding her, dancing with her even. But he'd never be able to have her. He mustered up enough happiness to smile back at her. Pushing all other thoughts out of his mind, he focused on her and the moment alone. His eyes wandered to her lips, but only briefly. He wondered what it would be like to.. no. Why did he keep thinking of stuff like that? What was wrong with him? But the more he thought about it.. could it be possible that she felt the same way he did?

He looked down at her. She seemed so.. small. Like she needed to be protected, even though he knew that she was a thunder elemental and was perfectly capable of protecting herself. But there were some things that even powers couldn't fight. Whatever it was, though, he would be there to fight it with her.

He smiled again when she laughed. It sounded so beautiful, even more so, coming from her. His smile slowly faded when she asked if everything was okay. "I.. it's getting late. They might wonder where we've been." he said, referring to their fellow elementals, while nodding his head at the full moon behind him. How he wished he could turn back time and start the evening again and again and again. But for now..

He withdrew his hands, and took a small step back. "Today was fun. I hope we can do it again sometime." he said, as cool as he could. He couldn't let her know how sad he really was to have to end their all-too-brief meeting. But they'd have more chances. He would go all the way up the cliffs every day if he had to. To hell with his fear of heights.

[/size][/justify]

[serenityvictoria]

Victoria kept watching Jake as they danced and her heart kept breaking. He could barely even smile at her, she kept the smile on her face but let her eyes travel down to hide the pain. When she looked up at him again he at least was smiling back. Tori thought it was more then obvious that Jake didn't care about her in that way. Even though the thought pierced her heart she knew he cared about her as a friend and that would be enough for her..

There were so many things Tori just wanted to tell him, things that were probably nothing, but that destroyed her. She knew compared to other people she had life easy, but she still could not help always feeling hurt about it. Tori was a tough girl, there was no doubt about it, but every now and then the toughness in her just left. Like these moments; being held by Jake so closely.

As soon as Tori saw his smile fade she knew that she already regretted asking him. Her heart had dropped so far down she wasn't sure how to respond. "So let them wonder! Tori was saying before she knew what she was doing "We're big kids! We can take care of ourselves! She bit her lip as soon as the words were out of her mouth and looked back at him with emotionless eyes. At the moment she didn't care what anyone else thought, she just knew that she didn't want to leave that spot yet.

Tori watched him withdraw his hands, unable to allow herself to grab after him. He took a step away and Tori had to recover quickly so he wouldn't know how hurt she was. When he spoke with a cool voice her heart broke all over again. Even though she knew he wouldn't feel the same way, to just hear him be so nonchalant about it, it tore her apart. "Yeah totally, just text me and I'll be here"

[/color] Her voice was aloof, as though it was something she did everyday; nothing special. She obviously couldn't show what he made her feel and how much this had meant to her. Tori knew she couldn't go back yet though, but if he invited her to walk with him she probably would because that's how far gone she was with him. Yet at the same time she felt tears over powering her eyes so maybe it would be best if she stayed behind. Then again she was completely assuming that he would even ask her. Jake was probably going to get out of there as quickly as he could to get away from her.[/center][/font][/size]

[JAKE CHRISTIAN CAMERON]

"They.. wouldn't understand. You know how they are. To thunder students, all waters are enemies, same with the water students." Jake said, shaking his head, "Even the thought of us being friends.. They might even use that as an excuse to start another war. You wouldn't want that, would you?" he smiled, but it was a sad smile that didn't reach his eyes. It was obvious by her tone that she was just as upset as she was about the everlasting feud between their elements. "Well.. it's a good thing you aren't like that. A really good thing. You have no idea how boring my life would be without you." he laughed a little, to lighten the mood, though there was little humor in the laugh. His laugh faded, then his face turned serious. "If you ever need anything, I'm just a call away." he said, looking her in the eye when he spoke. He wanted her to know that she could tell him anything. That he'd always be there for her. He tried to convey as much with his eyes, and he hoped it was enough.

As he looked at her face, he thought he saw a hint of sadness. "Hey, I mean it, I had a great time today. You'd better come when I text you, or else I'd have to drag you here kicking and screaming and all, and I don't think that would be a pretty sight. he winked at her, trying to be jolly despite how un-jolly the moment was.

Turning around, he bent down to pick up the plastic bag on the floor containing the half-eaten brownie he had forgotten about, which had long since turned cold. With a shrug, he stuffed the whole thing into his mouth, turning back towards Tori to grin at her, his teeth and mouth all covered in chocolate. He chewed it quickly, before gulping it all down, wiping the chocolate off his mouth and licking it off his teeth afterwards. When he was down, he grabbed his backpack, slung it over his shoulder, and stretched out his hand, palm up, for the second time in the day. "Walk with me? It would be a great way to end a great day." he gave her one of his half-smiles.

[ooc: Let's make another thread after this <3 any ideas?]

[/size][/justify]