{SB} If You Can't Catch a Wave, You're Never Gonna Ride It

[Lucy James]

After her interaction with the boy in the locker room, Lucy had withdrawn to her quarters and taken her painkillers. Of course, she had done absolutely nothing about the wound above her head, besides rubbing some water on it to get the dried blood away, but it had only made it start bleeding again, and well, she had quickly realized that there was little point in continuing, so she had given the bottle of painkillers most of her attention, along with some of the weed. Needless to say, the brunette was rather high as she wandered out on the deck on the middle of the night.

There was no one else around, whether or not that was because of how late it was, or because of the somewhat windy weather, she could care less about. Stumbling her way over the dimly lit deck, Lucy's foot got caught in what felt like some kind of rope and before she had any chance of reaction. she found herself faceplanted against the flooring. Groaning, Lucy lifted her head and cursed incoherent words from under her breath.

Propping herself up on one elbow her other hand went to her now (again) bleeding cut on her forehead. Lowering her hand, she stared at the blood soaked tips of her fingers, and in her current state she became completely and utterly distracted by the redness. She didn't even notice anything around her - though that was only to be expected.

The sudden sound of footsteps had her head turning and in a drowsy attempt at focusing her eyes, she looked up at the hazy figure, blinking.

[Taylor McCarthy]

Taylor didn't know if the night had gone awry, or if it had panned out exactly how he'd expected. He wasn't so blind to think he'd be able to pierce through the veil of someone so easily. It seemed the further he pushed, the harder he tried, the more resistance he met. That, in turn, caused him to become more and more drawn into the little game of cat and mouse. Eventually, though, he'd really like to figure which one he was.

After carefully making his way to his cabin, Taylor stopped off long enough to take a short shower and change. His mind was racing more than usual rendering sleep a futile undertaking. It was getting late, very late, and Talyor found himself wandering the decks, hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans, head lowered in thought.

Upon finding he wasn't the only troubled teen out and about this night, Taylor's head could only shake. He shouldn't have been surprised to see the girl, at his point he didn't know if he could get away from her if he wanted. It was also apparent something was wrong, unless she happened to be the type to enjoy laying on the floor in random places.

"Have a little accident, did you?" He asked, moving to her side so he could get a better look at her face while also being careful to remain out of arm's reach. He wasn't about to play that game again. "Christ, girl, what the hell's your problem?" He asked, the grin Lucy was no doubt finding familiar by now flashing across his face. The first time he saw her like this it was a mild surprise. The second just seemed like business as usual. He knelt down to get more of an eye-level view and peered into her face. Nothing she had done or said seemed to be lingering in his gaze. It was as though they'd just met. "You're a little out of it." He observed, studying her features for a moment.

[Lucy James]

Resting her chin against her free hand, Lucy pursed her lips. Her ability to focus was out the door, but her ability to process, wasn't. "Hilarious," she muttered sarcastically. Out of all the people she could run into... If she hadn't known any better, she would have thought he was stalking her. But no, she simply was that unlucky. And it didn't even seem as if the boy had learned anything from their previous encounters. What a stupid, foolish young thing. Sighing, Lucy tilted her head.

"You're my problem," she slurred. "D'ya think? You're a real observant one, did'ya know that?" Her voice lacked the usual sharp edges, but the meaning was still the same. She rolled over and sat up, inspecting the rope around her ankle. She moved her hands to attempt getting herself rid of it, all the while hoping the boy would take the hint...her hopes had proved to be futile thus far.

[Taylor McCarthy]

So far so good. Lucy had responded in just the way he'd expected. It was becoming a routine between them. If it hadn't been so scathing and abrasive, it almost would've been cute the way they acted when first meeting up. His head shook, the grin he'd worn just moments ago still lingering upon his lips. "You're such a sweet girl, you know that?" Yep. She was all sorts of fucked up.

Taylor eyed Lucy's hands as they clumsily tried to untangle the rope from her ankles. He considered his next course of action very carefully. For all of a single second. And ended up, as usual, throwing out the logical path of leaving the girl fend for herself. "Ah, hell." He muttered under his breath, shifting closer and reaching out to her. "You're going to make it worse." He said, lightly brushing her hands away and getting started on the rope himself. He didn't know why, he never did, and he somehow expected she was going to start swinging, maybe even have a violent go at his jimmies again. If he moved the wrong way he could still feel the lingering ache where she'd kneed him just a few hours before. He could say what he pleased about the evasive girl, but there was never a dull moment when she was around.

[Lucy James]

"Oh yeah, totally. I'm a living, breathing Jean D'Arc," she drawled, rolling her eyes. How this boy managed to stay so cheerful after all the crap she'd thrown his way, Lucy would never understand. Who wanted to take that much crap from someone anyways? Who in their right mind had a pride that could withstand all that verbal and physical abuse? Either he was a masochist, or he was a lot stronger than either of them gave him credit for.

When he brushed her hands away, the brunette's lips parted and she was about to say something, but instead, she leaned back on her elbows and puckered her lips in a very pouty and unhappy way, but at the very least, she didn't stop him. Later, she would totally blame it on being high as a kite. That was totally the reason she didn't pick yet another fight with him. "For all you know I got stuck on purpose and am planning to throw myself off the ship. You'd do the world a favor if you stepped away and pretend you saw nothing tonight," she said dryly, a ghost of a smirk splaying over her lips.

[Taylor McCarthy]

"You'd do the world a favor if you stepped away and pretend you saw nothing tonight."

Taylor's eyes snapped from the task at hand to look at Lucy as the words echoed through his mind. The girl was a headache and a mindfuck of epic proportions. As it Taylor found it difficult enough to decipher which of her painfully depressing comments and rebuttals were true feelings or merely a defense mechanism in place to push people away. Up until now, Taylor had been able to take everything in stride, after all, words directed his way didn't seem to have an impact upon the boy. It was when Lucy began speaking of herself that, if she was astute enough to catch, caused a finger-snap of distress to flash in his eyes.

"You shouldn't be talking like that." He said, turning his attention back to the rope and making short work of it. He lifted her leg by the ankle just enough to slip the rope from beneath it and tossed the tangled mess to the side. Her skin was red and showed hints of a minor rope burn, but she was none the worse for wear.

But Taylor wasn't done. He shifted over to be more in line with Lucy's eyes and looked at her for a moment. The cut somehow looked worse than it did when he'd first saw it a few hours ago. She hadn't been taking care of it and the fresh bit of blood that was no running down along her face was a telling sign. "Will you let me take a look at that thing now?"

[Lucy James]

Narrowing her eyes, the brunette was tempted to roll them, but instead she simply sighed. "You say that now? Where have you been our past encounters?" She didn't understand why those select words had suddenly made him tell her to stop saying such things. It was hardly the first time she spewed some kind of nonsense or venom his way, and it would doubtfully be the last either. No, Lucy's mouth rarely ever lay still and there was rarely ever anything positive coming out from it.

At last her foot was lose and the second he let it go, she pulled both of her feet closer and hoisted herself up so that her chest was leaning against her thighs. "If I say no, are you going to leave me alone?" she asked with a tilt to her head. She had to give it to him though; at least he was stubborn and didn't give up easily. Had Lucy been a remotely good person, she might have admired that trait.

[Taylor McCarthy]

Taylor could handle anything Lucy could possibly say about him. She could call him a potato, threaten to poison his family, insult his accent, his face, the way he walked, anything. She could even tell him he was being foolish, that he was stupid for finding himself lingering around her as much as he had been lately. Tell him he was wasting his time, that she wasn't worth interesting or worth the effort. None of that seemed to bother him. It was when she turned that biting, scathing attitude into herself and not-so vaguely hinted at thoughts of suicide that bothered Taylor.

He didn't answer her question at first. He studied her much as she seemed to be doing with him and then went to sit beside her on the floor. She knew the answer, she had to. Even as he stayed silent while drawing his knees up so he could rest his elbows onto them she had to be fully aware of what was coming. "No." He said with a curt shrug of his shoulders and a short glance in her direction. "You're in no condition to be wandering around here by yourself." He was good at pointing the obvious out to her. He chuckled softly as his tone shifted slightly. It still carried a certain softness but the playfulness he usually had was beginning to creep back in. "Anyway, I enjoyed our first date so much, I thought we might do it again. Could always break into a teacher's cabin, this time. Dig around in their stuff, get into their liquor stash."

[Lucy James]

She averted her gaze as she simply shook her head. "You say that as if you know anything at all." No, she was more than capable of taking care of herself. She had up until now, anyways. She might not have done the best job at it, but at the very least she was still alive and that had to count for something. There was nothing Lucy hated quite as much as people questioning her ability to take care of herself. They said those things as if they knew anything about her or her life, which they didn't. Not even her twin knew a quarter of it, and he wouldn't get off her back about it.

"If you stop referring to us as if we're a thing, as if we're friends, I'll let you help. But only if you get the fuck out of my face afterwards," she said, looking back at him with narrowed eyes. "And no, we're not going to be "hanging out" either," she said, even adding the quotation marks with her fingers. "The clock's ticking." Hopefully this time he'd take the hint and leave her the hell alone.

[Taylor McCarthy]

"Then why don't you tell me?" Taylor countered, shifting to glance at the girl. Lucy was right. He had no idea what it was that made her tick. Not a clue what it was that had caused her to draw so deeply into herself and wish nothing more than to forcibly push people away. She hadn't willingly given an inch, everything he'd learned about her had been gleaned mostly from her apparent inability to face the demons that were undoubtedly dancing in her head. He didn't even know her name and would never pretend to understand until she let him.

"I'll leave you to yourself tonight, yes." He agreed with a nod. His eyes remained locked upon her face, studying every subtle nuances of her features as he spoke. He'd hold up his end of the bargain and leave her be for the time being but he wasn't one to say when fate would or wouldn't bring them together. It wasn't as if he'd gone out of his way (much) to find her. Sometimes the world just seemed to conspire to push people in certain directions and who was he to go against the grain and defy the wishes of the unseen powers that be?

"Then I better hurry, shouldn't I?" Taylor slowly got to his feet. It wouldn't be an ideal situation, but he knew where to find a first aid kit easily enough. "You don't want to get blood in your eye. It stings like hell." He peered down at the girl who, with the bruises on her face, the bleeding cut, and hazy expression in her eyes didn't look anything like the defiant, abrasive person she tried to make herself out to be. "Come on." He said quietly, his hand turning palm up and extending toward her.

[Lucy James]

His words was met with silence. Barely visible, her expression hardened and once again she felt herself closing back up again. It wasn't just that he had that effect on her, because in all honesty, everyone did. No, that was far from the issue. The issue was that despite her hard efforts to keep him out in the cold, he seemed to come closer than anyone had ever before. Be it his ability to understand every subtle hint and read her body language. It didn't matter. She didn't like it, and she didn't trust him.

"Not just tonight," she argued. She didn't know how many ways she could possibly tell him she didn't want him around. Not before, not now and not ever. She just wanted to be left to her own. Was that really too much to ask for? Clearly it was, because whether it was by chance or not, she seemed to run into the boy more often than what she would have liked.

She looked at his hand, studied it for a moment as if it was about to grow fangs and bite her hand off. After a few seconds, she finally sighed. Lifting her own, she placed her hand against his and with his help, the brunette managed to stumble her way to her feet. Her eyes met his for a brief moment before she averted her gaze and pulled her hand away. "Let's get this over with," she mumbled.

[Taylor McCarthy]

"It's not like I've been actively seeking you out, now have I?" Taylor replied coolly, a thin smirk touching his lips as he looked to the girl. He'd only gone looking for her once, thus far. Every one of their brief but maddening encounters had been accidental, save for earlier this evening when he went in search of her after getting wind of the fight she'd obviously faired quite poorly in. "I make no promises for the hands of fate." He, too, could be vague and evasive.

It was but a fleeting moment when their eyes met. Taylor studied those crystal pools of blue when they turned his way. There seemed to be a faint hint of something behind the contempt and malice she'd carried for him. Something less abrasive, something deeper. It did feel as though time slowed, but that was merely Taylor's mutation kicking in when he didn't want it. He caught everything in the few second long window. The weight of her hand in his. The way the moonlight caused the still wet blood on her face to shimmer. The way she looked at him as though she was constantly debating whether or not to hit him again. The feel of his thumb brushing against the back of her hand before she pulled it away.

"Right." Taylor said, glancing down once Lucy had drawn her hand from his hold. "It's not ideal, but there's a bathroom just around the corner, there." He gestured in the general direction. "It's got a first aid kit and it'll give you at least a little privacy." He took a step down the hall and paused just long enough to see if Lucy was going to follow.

[Lucy James]

She snorted at his words, shaking her head. "Coulda fooled me," she replied, glancing at him for a moment before once again shaking her head. Whatever the reason was, they seemed to continuously run into one another, and despite her obvious distaste in that fact, it didn't make it any less true. His next words had the brunette tossing a glare his way. "Oh you're truly hilarious."

She didn't like the way the boy looked at her. She didn't know what it was - and she didn't care to find out, but it caused her to pause, caught in a moment of hesitation. It was no secret that the boy noticed a lot, probably thanks to his ability which she had gotten a taste of two times already, but it still rubbed her the wrong way. It made her feel as if she was constantly caught in the corner with no way of escape. For someone who was constantly defensive, that wasn't a nice position to find yourself in.

Nodding at his words, Lucy kept her gaze averted from his and as he started walking she followed suit. Stopping when he did to avoid crashing into him, the brunette's gaze lifted. "Tick, tock," she said as she pushed her chin forward.

[Taylor McCarthy]

Finding himself so close to Lucy again as she nearly bumped into him caused him to regard her with another contemplative look. He didn't hold her gaze long, though, and only nodded before turning and leading the way to the bathroom. Sometimes silence said more than words ever could and he was getting tired of constantly pushing her. She knew what she had gotten herself into whether she wanted it or not. He wasn't going anywhere and every time she opted to reply with a snarky comment to avoid risking let slip that she might not utterly despise him like she repeatedly claimed he learned a little more about her.

The bathrooms were located near the pool and also served as a changing area. A narrow room connected to the restrooms contained a row of lockers and a few benches in the middle. "Go ahead and have a seat." He said, plucking the first aid kit near the sinks off its brackets while nodding toward one of the benches. "Looks like you opened it again. You're just gonna keep bleeding all over if you don't stop trying to walk using your face."

[Lucy James]

Looking over at the benches, Lucy's lips pursed. "Yeah? Watch out, or else you might find out how that feels," she fired back as she moved towards the benches he'd gestured towards. Sitting down, the brunette crossed her feet and rested her arms idly in her lap. She was glad she had taken the pain killers before venturing outside, because the throbbing wasn't nearly as bad now as it had been before.

Turning her head, she watched the boy whose name she thankfully didn't know what was. Squinting slightly, she kept her lips pursed. She was done wondering why the hell he bothered and his reason behind his actions. After tonight, it wouldn't matter, because she was going to do her best to avoid him from now on.