IT'S TOTALLY NOT STALKING IF HE WANTS IT

[Frank "Sunny" Laffont]

"Oooooowwwwwwwwww," roared Frank Cox as she rolled around in front of the stables holding her leg. She wiggled and squirmed for a bit, sort of moving in a shape that resembled a circle in a rough, complimentary way. She hissed between her teeth and jerked a few times, before letting out another long, loud: "I SAID OOOOOOOOOO oh no, not you, go away, shoo!"

This had to be about the third or so passerby that Frank had to wave away. Honestly, you'd think that people would realize that a total hottie like Frank deserved to be helped by the most dashing of stable hands. because she was obviously a totally rich princess type and he was just as obviously a devastatingly handsome stable hand.

IT WAS FATE AND FRANK KNEW IT.

"I said owwwwoowowoowwwwh," said Frank, effectively to the tune of "what's going on" for a bit. She'd been doing this for about an hour or so now and she was kinda starting to get a little bored with it. She released her leg for a moment and let out a sigh, looking up into the air. "This totally brilliant hand is so not working," she mumbled, blowing out her lips. She'd totally seen this done before though: the beautiful princess (Frank, for those in the audience who hadn't picked up on that yet) was injured and needed the help of the hot stablehand (Lily, though it should be noted that Frank didn't even know his name yet. Just saying). He'd tend to her; they'd fall for each other and have RAGING HAWT SEX IN A STABLE.

So, yeah, she just needed the stablehand to show up.

"Maybe I need to be specific..." mumbled Frank. She cleared her throat and tried again: "OOOOOWWW, I SEEM TO HAVE FALLEN AND TWISTED MY ANKLE AND CANNOT WALK ON IT AND DEFINITELY NEED TO BE CARRIED ALL PRINCESS STYLE AND STUFF BECAUSE OOOOOWWWW!"

Clearly this was a brilliant, flawless plan that would work without fail.


Lily Chambers
{I apologize for nothing}

[Lily Chambers]

Lily had spent his lunch break out in the pastures eating in the grass. Never mind that he'd had to fight for the life of his lunch against the hoovering masses that he claimed to love. As he'd watched, people had flowed in and out of his stables like water, and since there were no demands for his attention or signs of trouble, he enjoyed his time peacefully. He even stayed out a bit longer. Ssssssh.

He was taking his time dawdling as he made his way back to the stables. Unfortunately, the pace did not appear agreeable with someone, if the bellowing from within the stables was anything to go by. With a concerned frown, Lily broke into a jog, hoping there wasn't an injured student he had to be carrying about.
Oh look at that. An injured student.

Pulling up, Lily planted his gloved hands on his hips and frowned. "What's wrong, china doll? I'm assuming you've lost a leg, for all the noise your making." Quite clearly he could see she had both legs, and with a muffled sigh he dropped to his knees. "Put your arms around me within the next five seconds, or submit to a fireman hold." He ordered, half teasing, half exasperated with what had turned out to be more work.

He should have taken a longer lunch break.

{Good, this is flawless}

[Frank "Sunny" Laffont]

"Oh wow, he's super hot," mumbled Frank under her breath, since thinking something and not saying it just didn't work out for the girl (Frank Cox: continued nightmare to telepaths everywhere). But, in a much clearer voice, she spoke to the object of her stalking attraction: "Not yet, but it's totally on the way there," she insisted, making sure to nod far, far more then was ever, ever going to be necessary to confirm anything.

"Right, arms going uuuuuu wait a tic," she held her arms out, looking at Lily, her expression serious, "is, like, the fireman carry where you carry me around shirtless and smoking hawt before we both pose for a calender that will be purchased by desperate housewives everywhere? Because that would totally work for me if that works for you," she pointed at herself then at Lily. "Though I'm cool with the princess carry thing too. I mean, I'm in pain here,' she tapped her leg then flinched, actually remembering that part of the act, "and it's a pain that can only be fixed with some carrying. And maybe your shirt."

Frank looked the shirt over, nodding to herself and pointing. "Yeah, that's gonna need to go. For, uh, a tourney kit or something. Yeah. Totally." And then there was some more nodding, because of course there was.

[Lily Chambers]

It looked to Lily like the girl was in far more danger of losing her head than either of her legs. Was it really necessary to nod to such an extent that he feared her head would simply be flung off like a catapult?

Scowling and growing impatient, Lily shook his head. "No, the fireman's hold is when I throw you over my shoulder in a very un-princess like manner and carry you the hell out." He certainly hadn't been expecting to instruct students on the different kinds of carries today. Life was certainly full of surprises. This girl alone seemed to carry half the world's quantity. Throughout their very brief conversation, his emotions had tap-danced between exasperated and confused, and now he was stuck halfway between both.

"Listen china doll, the shirt stays." He snapped more defensively than he'd intended. His eagerness to hide and defend himself ensured that. It wasn't that Lily's personality was against stripping for a stranger, in fact if it wasn't for the interlacing network of burn and laceration scars decorating his body, he would have been all over that shit, and enjoying it too. Now however, things had changed, and he couldn't afford to be so open. "Come on, you've got a twisted ankle, not a snake bite. Just let me carry you for now." He offered softly, holding his arms out again and leaning closer.

[Frank "Sunny" Laffont]

Did Frank detect an accent? She was usually really good at that, what with having been at St. Bethany for, like, forever and having a French roommate and then moving back here and oh somewhere along the lines she'd been raised among the upper class of the Eastern Us (who totally sounded like Thurston Howell sometimes, especially Dick Cox when he really got going).

"Man, that doesn't sound fun at all," was what eventually came out of Frank's mouth, mostly because the rest wasn't so much thought as an aside loosely related to thought. Frank extended her arms anyway. "Well, yeah, I'm obviously gonna need to be carried and junk. For a while I bet," she waved the hands, gesturing for the carrying to begin at any moment. "And don't you work here? You should so be nicer," or not, because that was hot.

BECAUSE WHO DIDN'T WANT A BAD BOY STABLEHAND.
OMIGAHWD.
HAWT.
HE WAS PROBABLY DAMAGED AND EVERYTHING! OH, OH, OH, OH "Bet you got some sexy scars."

See, sometimes, the whole saying exactly what happens in your head? Not the best thing ever. But, unfortunately, this was how Frank Cox worked.

[Lily Chambers]

Lily sighed patiently, which was surprising for him, and scooped his arms around the girl. "No it does not. Thus, why I used it as a threat." He explained with the smallest of smirks, looking down at the blonde girl as he stood up. Surprisingly, she was lighter than he'd expected. Her big mouth apparently didn't weigh as much as he'd thought.

"Considering you're keeping me from working here, I'm allowed to be a little crabby." Lily retorted, walking down the aisle. "Since you're the one ordering me to lug you about, and I'm doing it, the least you could do is pipe down and not criticize my personality flaws." He was sweating enough under his jumper and jeans, the close proximity of another individual wasn't helping the matter, and he felt incredibly warranted to use the sass he usually confined around students.

At her arguably excited comment Lily's entire body went into lock-down, tightening visible. He even had to stop walking for a moment, a tremble walking up his legs. When he started walking again he kept his gaze firmly ahead, though his grip around the girl had tightened. "Just tell me where I'm carrying you to." He ordered in a tight voice.

[Frank "Sunny" Laffont]

Frank adjusted her arms and got situated enough around her stable-hand so there shouldn't be any falling, or, at least there shouldn't be any falling until she really started squirming, which was pretty much a give in seeing as OMIGAWD: THE HAWT STABLE-HAND WAS TOTALLY DOING HER.

"Well, I'm keeping you from work, so, like, that's a happy thing," insisted Frank. Then she squirmed a little (that lasted long), readjusting and griping, since she could see him struggling a bit. She didn't appear to notice the muscles locking down, of course, but she could notice the stopping of movement. Frank looked around for a bit, figuring that maybe looking away from the stable-hand for a few moments might help her figure out what was going on as she looked about.

"Uhhh, I thought you were picking,' said Frank, looking back up at the guy. "Since I'm all wounded and junk. Is there, like, a place in the stables you can wrap my ankle? Since it's all twisted and junk? Or do we, like, need to head allllll the way back to the nurse's station or something?" Frank twisted to look up at the station. That was a long walk, which did mean more time for him to obviously fall desperately in love with her. That happened here all the time. That was pretty much how Erika met her man, right?

"Oh, name!" said Frank, looking back and beaming at Lily. "I didn't get yours! I'm Frank, Frank Cox and yeah," she giggled and rolled her eyes, "it's totally a boy's name, but I'm definitely not a boy. Nothing but girl parts here," she looked up at him, attempting to look seductive, "make that woman parts, actually."

[Lily Chambers]

He might have been carrying a light load, but the girl acting like she had a body full of beans meant that any ease he had gained from her weight, was quickly lost from her movement. Growling quietly as she continued to squirm, Lily locked his arms and tossed the girl, just a little, into the air before catching her again. "Well maybe work easier than carrying around a princess that squirms more than a bag 'o worms." He retorted with a slight warning glare down at her. If he could convey at all that he'd have no misgivings about dropping her, he wanted to do so. Not that he'd ever actually drop her.

Sighing, Lily nodded and changed course slightly. "The office out back will be fine." It had been idiotic of him to think leaving the thinking to her was a good idea, and he wasn't entirely sure how that decision had ever come to him. He had to repress a sigh as she continued talking, and continued squirming. If both arms hadn't been full, he probably would have rapped her on the head for it, gently of course. Glancing down, mild curiosity glimmered in his gaze.

"So my china doll's name is Frank? Pleasure, luv." He grunted finally with a nod, unable to keep the smile off his face. After all, her situation seemed quite similar to his, and it made him just a little happier with the situation. "Name's Lily Chambers. Which is totally a girl's name, but I'm definitely not a girl." He mimicked teasingly with a quirk of his eyebrow. "Nothing but man parts here."

Glancing up at the office door, he kicked it open and strode inside, setting Frank down gently on the relatively clear desk. "Now stay. There's a first-aid kit around here somewhere."

[Frank "Sunny" Laffont]

"Alrighty then!" said Frank, nodding and patting Lily a bit. She tried to hold still, and actually managed to do so for quite an extended period of time. Holding still was technically possible for Frank (almost required if she sank into one of her lows); remaining quiet on the other hand.

"Well, obviously," said Frank, rolling her eyes, "I totally noticed your boy parts. And Lily is still a pretty cool name and all. Plus, they say that, like, if you have a name like that, you end up super manly to balance it. Like that one song by that one old country guy who dressed in black and sang about lines and stuff. Uhh... 'Boy Named Deb', yeah, that one," Frank did nod, before seeming to realize that this was technically moving. So she held still again, at least long enough to be set gently on the desk.

"Sure thing! I'm definitely fine with waiting. Just don't leave me here too long. There's all kinds of stuff going on, and October's coming up, and so is my birthday. I turn eighteen," which of course needed a wide grin and a nod that somehow used most of Frank's body. Yes, yes she did know precisely what that meant and what she was suggesting.

Subtlety, they name is Frank.

[Lily Chambers]

"You totally noticed, huh?" Lily's voice was full of bemusement and withheld laughter. It wasn't exactly a compliment....he didn't think? He couldn't tell. Not at all. "Oh yes, I'm super manly," Lily clarified with a cheeky nod. Glancing at Frank he winked, a crooked smirk tweaking his mouth. At this point he still wasn't sure where exactly she was leading this conversation. Surprisingly enough he was happy to sit back and wait for it anyway. It seemed like he'd be waiting a while, since he had to literally wade through everything she said and pick out the really important parts.

Crouching down he began opening and closing the desk draws, rummaging around through the loose papers inside. "Who's leaving? I'd never leave an injured flicka to sit around in my pigsty of an office. The first aid kit should be- AHA!" He flourished the small box with a smile, having found it at the bottom of one of the draws. Raising an eyebrow, as if the information about her impending birthday was somehow impressive, he glanced up at Frank. "Oh yea," he all but purred, baring his teeth in a smile. Subtly wasn't this girl's game, was it? A part of him found it cute, another exasperating, and yet another was worrying. "Well then, happy early birthday, China doll."

Not bothering to stand back up he turned and found himself level with Frank's feet. Neither looked particularly swollen to him and he was left quizzical. Looking up at the girl, he gestured towards her feet, not missing the fact that he'd somehow ended up between the legs of a stranger. "Which shoe should I be removing?"

[Frank "Sunny" Laffont]

"Super," repeated Frank, trying not to sound too dreamy and mostly failing miserably. She kept her attention fixated on Lily (not hard) as he moved along. He didn't seem to be running (which was kinda new) or being too mean, which really wasn't helping if he wanted to be rid of the girl who was now more determined then ever to be missus whatever his last name was. Or, well, at least roll around in the hay with him a few times...

... a week.

"Thanks!" came out at the birthday. "I'm kinda looking forward to it, since eighteen's one of the big ones and all. Kinda weird for me though, since, like, I was in the English school and seventeen was all normal and stuff aaaaaaand---" Frank looked down, pursing her lips. She should've actually sprained an ankle: would've been so much better. "Uh, I think the left one. Yeah, it's totally the left," Frank nodded, not seeming in the least disappointed or abashed at how this was starting to sound more and more suspect with each passing minute.

[Lily Chambers]

Lily did laugh then, smirking at the somewhat dazed tone Frank had spoken with. Perhaps she had legitimately hurt herself and the pain was finally getting to her; but somehow he doubted it. There was just something extremely iffy about the whole situation. Then again, he had no thoughts for why anyone would ever fake an injury like that. What was most surprising was that he didn't mind it, for some reason.

"Oh yea?" He mused, somewhat wistfully. "I've heard eighteenths are the whole kit and caboodle. Alcohol, sex, drugs, the works." Maybe to someone else that may have sounded inviting, but Lily only winced. Sounded like hell to him. His face showed mild concern as he glanced at Frank again. "You planning anything like that?" The question was asked mildly, and he had to remind himself that he had no place being concerned or judgmental.

Gently pulling off her left shoe, after rolling his eyes at the less-than-certain answer, Lily set it aside and examined her foot. "Well, no swelling. Looks like you might have got lucky." Glancing up, he winked slowly. Right, hurt her foot. He'd bet his fine ass that hadn't really happened. Not like he could call her out on it. Not like he would. "Would you like me to bandage it anyway, China doll? Bandages are almost as sexy as scars."

[Frank "Sunny" Laffont]

{u accidentally used Everett's name in the first line there, Trick xD}

Frank giggled at Lily's description of the eighteenth. "Well, not quite all that. I actually, like, can't drink... or do drugs. well, I technically caaaaan but, like, my power has my metabolism set on super-load, so it all just wooshes right through me and all. Be super expensive. The sex thing: that I can totes do. All the time. Loaded with energy," She waved a hand in a fairly grand manner and probably would've said more, but she had to focus on her totally injured foot and all.

Frank could act to a degree, if she focused, which was extremely hard for her to do when there wasn't one of her friends involved, even harder when there happened to be a super hot guy right there. Still, she at least winced appropriately and let out a few "ouches" and hissed breaths, which had to count for something.

"Oh yeah, totes. You could take your shirt off to make them. Or rip it. You know, just a suggestion," Frank shrugged, clearly wanting to toss aside the totally innocent and not in the least bit suggestive comment.

[Lily Chambers]

{See what he does to me!?}

Even though Lily had automatically assumed she was a mutant, it still surprised him to hear her remark it so openly. Then again he supposed she'd just assumed he was a mutant as well, like he had done. "The loaded with energy I can believe," he professed with a laugh, eyeing Frank with new curiosity. Normally he knew better than to pry into the abilities of others, but the small, casual references had interested him. "What kind of power comes with side-effects like that?" He mused aloud with a sideways tilt of his head. At least it sounded like he wouldn't have to unnecessarily worry about her safety.

The fact that she was still acting so well made the man smile. Most people would have probably been wondering why strange girls in the workplace were feigning injuries, but since he doubted he had anything she could want, there was little point being suspicious. Besides, there was something about her incredibly cheerful personality was was endearing, and he couldn't help smiling along. How could anyone possibly be that happy every moment of the day? For someone damaged and solitary like Lily, it was hard to understand.

"Just a suggestion?" He repeated, amused and challenging. Sounded more hopeful than just a challenge. Normally, like before, he would had simply shut her down and changed the subject. Now though, he was too interested to turn back. People weren't interested in him, not ever, and especially not mutants. He was something of a lower caste of staff in the school, particularly since he was a human working with animals. There was a part of him that wanted to bare that to Frank and watch her run away, if only so he could get it over with. No one was inherently kind all over; and he was sure that his humaneness, if not his ruined body, would scare her away. But he didn't want it to.

"Yea, yea, bandages. I got it," he sighed, glancing up at Frank cautiously before tugging his jumper of his head. Even testing her as he was, the jumper was his favorite, he wouldn't wreck it. It was also filthy, and the hygienist in him would never use that as a bandage. Instead he tossed it aside and pulled off the white singlet shirt instead, which was thankfully cleaner. Using his teeth, he began tearing the fabric into strips, silently mourning the loss of the nice garment. Taking a brief pause, he glanced up at Frank with deadpan eyes, blank now that the top left side of his burned half was on display. "Well?"

[Frank "Sunny" Laffont]

"I can eat anything," replied Frank cheerily. "Like, seriously, anything. I could chew my way straight outta the stable. Be all nom, nom nom,' and of course she mimicked the action, looking like pac-man or possibly a piranha. Then she giggled, her feet moving for a bit. Which probably wouldn't have been so bad if she wasn't supposed to be keeping still and being in pain. Frank seemed to realize this quickly though, though not quick enough, holding still.

"Yeah, you know," said Frank, shrugging, "'cuz that's totally, you know, how it goes and--oh boy," Frank was practically squirming as the guy actually reached, not even believing this was working out well. She stared, her excitement evident as the shirt slid up. Okay, so there was a shirt underneath. Frank's excitement fell, and she immediately opened her mouth, the words: "That is so not fair---" coming out before she stopped, as he'd started pulling again. She stared, open-mouthed and silent for several long seconds. Her eyes took in every inch, seeing the burned flesh, the scars showing a burnt path of pain across him.

Frank wasn't an idiot: she was bubbly, cheery, always looking forward, but despite all appearances to the contrary, she wasn't dumb. Clueless, flighty, sometimes, but not dense. She saw pain, knew that those scars had likely come from intense pain. She also realized that she was staring, but she also made sure to drag her eyes all over his body, taking in every bit of him.

When he asked, Frank looked up at his eyes. She blinked. "You are so pretty." were the truest words that had come out of her mouth since she'd caught his attention a few minutes earlier.