this never ending story;; lark

[nitwit]

It was cold outside. Dressed in his gray jacket, he pulled his hood over his head, hoping that would help. It didn’t seem to lower his body’s temperature at first, but it was too soon to tell. Perhaps having his ears somewhat covered for a few minutes would change his ears’ temperature slightly. Only time would tell. Walking out of the movie theater, he had his leftover soda cup in his hand. Raising his diet coke to his lips, he took a sip out of it. Benny loved coke products. Only root beer was really a worthy opponent to it. The wind elemental just saw the movie “Tower Heist”, a comedy movie with Eddie Murphy in it that was pretty funny in his opinion.

Would he see it again? For sure, but he wouldn’t see it again in a while though. He’d watch it on DVD, because then he could watch it without some annoying kids making fart noises right next to him. He hated people who talked during movies. He didn’t care if it was about the movie or about other things. He didn’t like commentaries or the nightly news. When he went to see a movie, he went to see a movie, not those things. The nerve of some people… Ben felt a little satisfaction when he noticed that the guy who sat in front of them was yelling at the kids as Ben left his seat. Hopefully, those kids would grow up.

There was nothing lonelier than watching a movie by himself. During the movie, it didn’t matter if he had a friend or a date with him, but it sucked walking out of the theater with no one to talk about the movie with. Oh well, what could he do? His father and brother didn’t live in Maple Hallow, therefore making it impossible to meet with them on a daily day basis. Plus, winter break just started that day. Maybe they went on vacation? That’s what they used to do before Benny went to the academy. He didn’t really know what they did when he wasn’t there. Huh.

Walking off to the side of the movie theater, Benny’s eyes scanned the parking lot. Now where did he park is car…? He hated forgetting those simple things, because it just made things longer. Plus, the snow was raining down, so all the cars were covered with snow. Benny didn’t really care for winter. What he really liked was summer and fall. He liked windy days, he really did, but during winter, a gust of wind in the face meant a gust of really cold air in the face. He had to keep his head down on those windy days, sadly. Ben also liked the color of the leaves during the fall. He found them far more interesting than the plain old green in the summer.

He remembered that when his mother was still alive, she used to put Benny and his brother in a pile of fallen leaves and take pictures of the two of them. He remembered that whenever she threw Dewberry into the picture (literally), she’d freak out and scram. Michael had the most hilarious way to deal with pain when he was little. He’d start out crying, and then he’d start to laugh. They used to have a few videos of the aftermath of Dewberry scratching Michael. Benny wondered what happened to those.

[LARK MARIE HARPER]

Pathetic. That was the first word that crossed her mind as she entered the movie theater. People sat huddled in the main lobby of the building, waiting for more friends or jabbering on about the awesome movie they just recently watched. None of them were alone, except for one brunette who walked in with her cargo pants and black hoodie, completely unaware of the scowl on her face. It was no surprise the girl had very few friends; her expressions were enough to drive people away, and if you did get her to speak to you most of the time she was less than friendly. Most times she did not intend to be such a closed off bitch. In all honesty, Lark wished that her list of friends was a little bit longer than it was. Silently, of course. She was not going to admit to feeling lonely or down, because that meant revealing weakness. That was not going to happen any time soon. Shrugging off the awkward stares from the small groups of females lingering nearby, Lark grabbed her ticket and went to watch the movie.

“Hey, you, dickhead. Shut it.” The fire girl hissed into the dark after the movie started. The boy in front of her kept talking and throwing candy at his friends, ruining the entire experience. Unfortunately for the kid sitting in front of Lark, he had no idea what she was capable of. He was an indignant little whelp with shaggy blonde hair and an attitude that needed an adjustment. Lark clenched a fist as he turned around stuck his tongue out at her, returning to his friends with a chuckle. Oh, so he thought that was cool? What a fucking five year old. With a growl, the female reached down behind him and pulled at the back of his t-shirt; a satisfied smirk formed on her lips as he made a gasp of shock. She leaned down and came close enough so only he could hear. “Let me tell you something you little ass wipe,” Lark whispered, a dangerous tone to her voice. “If you don’t shut your fucking mouth and keep your candy to yourselves, I swear you will be shitting candy for a month.” She released his shirt and sat back, satisfied. Apparently, the threat was enough to send him and his weasel-like friends into silence for the remainder of the movie. Ah, sweet silence. It felt good to be a bitch sometimes, at least with people that thought it was okay to cross her path and get away with it.

Once the movie ended, Lark made her way out of the theater, into the lobby, and out into the biting cold. She instinctively shivered upon contact with the drastic change in temperature, but did not dwell on it for too long. I still have to walk back home, Lark thought bitterly with a faint grimace on her face. The snow was coming down in droves, making it hard to see. Normally Lark would have pushed onward and tried to get home as soon as possible, but as she traipsed through the theater parking lot a familiar figure caught her eye. Raising an eyebrow, Lark approached the male cautiously before coming to walk beside him. Benny. She released a sigh. At least she put him at ease. They had not been friends for too terribly long, but Lark felt comfortable with the wind elemental. Very few people could do that to the fiery female. With a half smile, Lark nudged Benny gently on the arm. “Hey, Ben. Looks like we both decided watching a movie by ourselves was extremely fun...” She pointed out, her tone light and joking. There was not another soul to be found in their vicinity, so Lark assumed he went alone. She soon frowned thereafter, feeling bad that he had gone by himself. “How are you?” It felt awkward starting up a conversation with Benny; after all, she was not extremely adept socially and they were still a little fresh in their friendship. If this were Josh, Jack, or Sam there would have been no hesitation or second guessing. Lark shivered again; her loyal tendencies pushed her to stay and talk to Benny, but the desire not to freeze was also quite strong. It was fleeting, but the girl almost considered asking for a ride home; that would then mean requesting help, but if anyone hated asking for help it was Lark. Never mind the cold and her frozen toes; she passed Benny a genuine smile.

Things were tough at home. Her parents claimed to be divorcing, and Paula threatened to take her away from the school and back home to Hawaii. While it was what Lark wanted, it was not something she wanted right now. She wanted to graduate from high school and try to get college under her belt before going anywhere else. Besides, she promised Jack she was not going to leave until school was complete. Lark never broke a promise if she could help it. But now she either had to have the academy fight for her to stay in the Hollow or within two days Lark would say goodbye to everything she knew. That was actually the main reason she walked to the theater in the first place; to escape all of the stresses of home and get away for a while. However the consequences of said actions were not quite as well planned, and so the brunette was caught walking home in the heavy snow. If only she had a car, then maybe life would be a little less complicated. At least she could exchange a friendly word with Benny—any friend interaction was enough to take her mind off of things.

[nitwit]

Now where was his car…? Taking out his smart key, he pressed the lock button two times, making his car make a beep. Good, now he knew where his car was. Losing things or even getting them stolen from him made the wind student upset. It normally took Benny took a while to find what he had misplaced, mainly due to the fact that he was oblivious to his surroundings. Speaking of being oblivious to his surroundings, Benny did not notice the girl approaching him. Right as she spoke, Ben’s eyes widened and he accidentally dropped his key. Man, did that startle him or what? Looking to his side, he let out a small sigh of relief, knowing that it was just Lark. Huh, he didn’t expect to see Lark at the movies, well, anyone he knew really. He normally planned meeting up with others outside of the Academy. He wasn’t too lucky when it came to bumping into familiar faces. “Heh, yeah,” he said with a light laugh. So both of them decided to go along, eh? Huh, maybe if he had known that earlier, they could have seen the same movie. Benny considered it fun to laugh and comment about what happened in the film. “I’m good, how about you, Lark?” he replied to his friend’s question.

Bending down, he reached for his key in that had landed on the light amount of snow on the parking lot. Picking it up, he placed both his hand and his key in his jacket’s pocket, warming his hand up that had just came in contact with cold snow. It was cold outside, he could definitely say that. Maybe he should have brought more than a jacket. Some gloves would have been nice. His hands were quite cold. Once Lark shivered, Ben could instantly tell that she was colder than he was. “Hey, need some extra warmth?”

[/b] the wind student asked, gesturing towards his jacket. He could survive without a jacket for now. He could always turn the heat on in his car later. Giving her his jacket for the duration of the conversation wouldn’t bother him much. Lark was a friend of his. He did anything really for his friends; it didn’t matter how long he knew them. Plus, he didn’t think that she’d mind either, mainly due to the fact that she looked cold and that she was alone. Now, if she were on a date, the situation would be different. The brunette’s date wouldn’t be pleased seeing another guy giving his date a jacket. Well, Ben knew he wouldn’t be pleased seeing that. Speaking of dates, he hadn’t had one in a while. Before his mind could start that topic, he realized he was getting way too off topic. Anyways, if she wanted some extra warmth, she could just say so and he’d lend his jacket to her for the time being.

Starting to walk over to his car, he continued their conversation. “So, what are you going to do during your vacation?” For sure, she was going to do something more interesting than him. Ben didn’t really have anything planned for his winter break. All he had been thinking about was after the vacation. He was going into eleventh grade, he was quite excited. He could call himself a junior instead of a sophomore. He liked the sound of “junior” better than “sophomore”. Plus, he was going to learn more about how to use the element of wind. That was what eleventh graders learned, right? He just hoped he wouldn’t have any trouble with school during the next year. He probably would, because he wasn’t the brightest to begin with. Benny just really hoped he wouldn’t get stuck with a tutor. Nothing sucked more than doing school stuff after it the school day ended. He enjoyed doing other things, such as listening to music or hanging out with friends.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[LARK MARIE HARPER]

Lark shivered again as the wind bit at her face like an angry dog; she was becoming less and less certain about walking home now, but she was not one to ask for help and refused to do so now. Offering a ride to her was one thing, but begging for it was another. Begging was not in Lark’s vocabulary, and refused to learn it any time soon. It meant relying on someone, and that was not going to happen now, nor later. Benny finally responded to her, a light chuckle in his voice. It was strange that Lark did not think to ask anyone to accompany her to the movies, especially now that she noticed Ben went alone as well, but it was in her nature to do things alone. She was not ashamed to sit in the dark theater by herself and enjoy the movie; Lark was not a heavy romantic so the thought of taking a date did not exactly cross her mind. “I guess it could be worse,” She pointed out, shrugging. “Of course I had to deal with some douche bag who thought it was funny to throw candy at his friends and disrupt the entire movie.” A slight smirk crossed the girls features as she remembered the look of fear on his face as she yanked his collar and threatened to maim him if he uttered another sound. It was always so satisfying knowing that she was one of few girls that could instill fear into a male. Most of them did not know of her aggressive nature until it was too late, however, and never had the benefit of knowing beforehand. It was probably better that way. “I’m doing…as well as can be expected, given the circumstances.” Lark replied, forcing a smile as she wrapped herself further into her hoodie. She gestured briefly to the snow in attempts to throw him off of the trail, but she was not quite sure how that was going to work.

After a moment, Benny leaned down and picked up the key he had dropped a moment before—perhaps she startled him more than she thought. Well, it was possible being as it was dark outside and he was walking alone in the parking lot that it put him on edge. For all Benny knew she was some sort of psychotic assailant hell bent on stealing his money and his car and taking off. Lark could possibly pull that off, but he was a friend that thought never even crossed her mind. In fact she felt rather bad for scaring him and half frowned. “Sorry for coming up to you like that. Shoulda called out to you or something.” In order to take the concern off of her features, she decided to ask a rather stupid question. “What brought you out to the movies by yourself anyway?” It was probably an answer that already crossed her mind, and possibly was the same answer she gave to herself when she pondered it on her walk towards the movie theater. She blinked in surprise when he offered her his jacket; although she was a fire elemental Lark was not quite at the level Joshua was—the manipulation of heat was not to come for a couple more years, and so she had to suffer the winter weather like everyone else, human being or elemental. It sucked big time. Quickly she shook her head and waved it off like everything was fine, even though she was rather chilled. Her stubborn tendencies did not allow for her to accept his offer to help. “No thanks Ben, I’ll be fine. I’ve got a long walk home anyway. Gotta tough it out.” She smirked, gesturing to the street behind her with a thumb, her hair tousled from the relentless wind. This walk is going to be hell on earth.

At his question about the winter break, Lark merely tilted her head and seemed thoughtful. How should she answer this question without revealing too much about what was going on at home? Samson, Josh and Jack were one thing; she knew them for quite a long time and was less hesitant in telling them about her problems, but even then their chances were slim. The only reason Joshua knew about her possible move to Hawaii and the divorce was because she had no one else to go to. For once Lark needed someone to talk to about it and gain some advice, so she chose the one person she knew the longest. Josh could easily attest to the fact that her coming to him was a bit of a shock, and her talking to him about her problems was even more so. Benny would not gain the knowledge of the divorce and impending move, at least not right now. He was a nice guy and made her feel comfortable, but even so it went against who she was to openly chat about her life. “Ah, actually…nothing really. Everyone else is busy so I’m just sticking it out alone this year. I’ll entertain myself, I’m sure.” Lark smiled and appeared unfazed by the fact that the holidays were going to be rather lonely. She did not mind it all too much, even though being with friends would be preferable. “How about you? Anything special planned with family or friends?” Quickly Lark shoved her hands into her hoodie pockets to try and warm them up—it was slowly getting colder and colder. I should get going, but talking to a friend sounds more appealing…

[nitwit]

“So you had to deal with kids too, eh?” Huh, so it looked like the both of them had to deal with the immaturity of children. He remembered when he was like that though. The only thing different from him younger and the kids in the movie theater is that he acted that way in kindergarten or first grade. He couldn’t remember. The wind student’s parents taught him better than that once he knew how to pay attention. Well, he couldn’t say he fully knew how to pay attention, since he still had a somewhat hard time paying attention, especially in class. Ben guessed he just got lost in their words. It didn’t help that some of his teachers were monotone most of the time. Once she gestured to the snow, he let out a small laugh, “Yeah, I’m not a fan of the winter either.” He really wasn’t. Benny was glad he bumped into Lark. He had someone to talk to. He’d be bored if she didn’t approach him. She also distracted him from the realization that it was freezing outside, well, to him. Music could also distract him from keeping the temperature in mind. Well, somewhat. Conversation really helped, because if he kept focusing on the conversation, it made things less cold to him. Simple mind tricks made things a little bit easier.

“Hey, where would be the fun in that?”

[/b]he replied to her apology with a half smile. Sure, there could’ve been other ways to approach him, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. He didn’t want her to feel bad over that. “Everybody needs to be startled once in a while.”[/b] Letting out another light laugh, he listened to the brunette’s question. Shrugging, he replied, “Hmm… I don’t know. I guess I came here because it’s the first day of vacation and because I felt like seeing a movie, I guess.”[/b] Besides that, there wasn’t anything else really to say. He didn’t think there was another reason why he came. No reason he could remember at least. Once Lark told him that she didn’t want his jacket, he nodded. Benny did feel bad about the fact that she actually had to walk home. Turning his head slightly, he looked at his surroundings, saying, “Wow. It’s pretty cold outside. You sure you want to walk through this?” Looking back at the fire elemental, he continued, “Here, why don’t I give you a ride?” He really had nothing else to do, so he didn’t mind at all about giving her a ride. Plus, he was completely fine with letting a cute brunette into his car, even though she was just a friend. Who knew? Maybe one day the two of them would start going on dates and whatnot. He wouldn’t mind it to be honest.

He felt bad about Lark not doing anything with her family and friends during the vacation. Well, even though he was just the same, without plans, he still didn’t like it when he saw others, especially friends, in situations similar to his crappy ones. “Well, actually, I’m in the same boat as you, kind of. My family lives quite a ways from Maple Hallow and they haven’t really informed me of any kind of special plans for the break. Normally my father, brother, and I would go on some sort of vacation, normally somewhere tropical. I’m not sure about this year though. My father and brother went without me last year, so it could be the same."[/b] Ben smiled while letting out another light laugh. He should haven't gone too far into it, because the fact that his family could have been going on a vacation without him was a sad fact and he didn't want anyone to feel sorry for him. "As for friends, I’m not quite sure. You and I seem to have nothing to do this break, so maybe we should hang out sometime during these lonely weeks.” Ending his explanation with a small chuckle and a smile, he realized that they finally had made it over to his car. Man, he hoped that they’d hang out during the break. Some of his friends had plans with their families and he didn’t want his cell phone to be the only thing he’d socialize with. Plus, Lark was fun hanging around with. Well, at least that’s what he thought based on the times they have spent with each other.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[LARK MARIE HARPER]

Lark rolled her eyes dramatically at Ben’s question; sure, she herself could be considered a kid but who in their right mind thought it was cool to throw candy at one another for a movie you paid to watch? And not only that, but when someone asked you to be quiet and you retaliate by sticking out your tongue? Fucking childish. Not that Lark asked them politely in the first place, but that was beside the point. They should not have been doing it in the first place. “Yeah, damn kids. It’s not that hard to be mature.” When it came to her anger issues Lark was far from mature, but when she was level headed there was no denying she had the maturity level of someone much older. Not that she cared either way; Lark was not really one to give two shits about what other’s thought about her. She shivered at Benny’s statement. It was definitely her least favorite season, especially this year with everything that was going on at home. Boy, how she did not want to go home tonight. It was going to be hell on earth. But I have nowhere else to go. And Lark was most certainly not going to ask for anyone to take her in; just the fact that she burdened Josh with the news was enough. No one else needed to be involved.

She couldn’t help but smile when Benny smiled; even in the worst of times, she took notice that smiles and laughter were quite contagious, at least between friends. If Benny were anyone else they might have received a scowl or a look of indifference, but that was not the case. “I guess so. I’ll keep that in mind next time. You asked for it,” Lark waved a finger at him in warning with a playful smirk. She would more than likely avoid scaring him frequently, but it sure would be fun and give her something to do. She could be sadistic, but when it came to friends it was physically harmless and was never intended to anger anyone. “Oh, well…next time call me. We can go together. It sure as hell beats going by yourself.” It was an honest offer, although Lark did not really think of the implications entailed with it. To her a movie was a movie, but to some it was asking to go out on a date. Lark never went on dates; hell, it was mostly because no one ever asked her but it was also that she felt out of her element. She was very self-sufficient and felt that dates entitled the guy to pay for everything and hold doors and be all chivalrous, which she did not think was necessary. Then again going dutch normally solved such situations, but Lark did not think that far into the dating scene. She allowed her shoes to scuff through the snow as they walked through the parking lot, completely unaware of her surroundings. Being with a friend was a good distraction.

“Hm?” Lark turned her head to acknowledge his question, her eyes searching his face for a moment before looking back over at the road; the snow was coming down heavier than a few minutes before, and the darkness was settling into a moonless night thanks to the thick canopy of clouds over head. Lark’s teeth chattered for a millisecond before looking back at Benny. “Oh, well, I’m pretty used to walking everywhere. I actually don’t mind it all that much.” She did not tell him that it was because she was without a car, or because she knew her family would not be interested in letting her use theirs to go to the movies; that would be revealing a bit too much, and it irked her to do so. A pang of guilt stung at Lark’s heart for wanting to keep these things from Ben. He was a good person, and that was saying something coming from the fiery brunette. However, at his offer to give her a ride home, her eyes gained a new sort of light that had not been there before. How do I always manage to make friends with such good people I don’t deserve them. With her attitude and rough edges, Lark was surprised she even had friends. She wondered why Ben even stuck around, but that was not worth questioning. If he wanted to put up with her, then so be it. It gave her company, and she enjoyed his company. “Yeah, you know…that sounds like an offer I can’t really refuse.” Lark nudged his shoulder—most girls might have given him a peck on the cheek or a hug, but the brunette was not accustomed to offering up such affections—and smirked at him. “Thanks Ben. You’re the best.” She was not going to turn down an opportunity to catch up with a friend and avoid freezing to death. Two birds with one stone. Perfect.

After a moment, however, Lark half frowned as she listened to Benny’s family vacation problems. It sounded like a bummer holiday break, but she had to admit that her mind drifted to the issues that awaited her at home. A broken family. No Christmas. No nothing. It caused Lark’s stomach to clench up at the thought that her family was shattered and unable to be glued back together again. For once, she felt completely and totally helpless. “That really sucks man. I’m sorry. I don’t even have a Christmas planned so I know the feeling. Hopefully you can go on your vacation but if not…” She gestured to herself. “I’m always available.” Her eyebrows went up for a moment, eyes looking rather defeated. She knew that Benny would much rather be with his family, but the offer still stood strong. Friends were always worth her time. “Feel free to bother me any time this break. I’m available all day, any day. We can make the best of whatever time we have away from school.” She smiled at him before staring at his car, her shoulders rising to her neck to prevent another shiver from racking her body. Silently, Lark was infinitely grateful for Benny’s offer to drive her home—although, that now meant her destination was no longer an hour away and she would have to face reality a lot sooner than she anticipated. “Going home sucks.” It was not meant for anyone to hear, and once the words passed her lips Lark hoped that it was buffeted by the snow. She really did not want to explain it, but she prepared herself none the less. Me and my big fucking mouth.


[Are you actually interested in them dating? She had a final with Jack but Sophie disappeared so...she's available.]