Time For A Second Impression

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

Akeem was not the type to enjoy spending his day at the library. He could be calm when needed to, sure, but it was not his thing. He went there only when he had no choice. Like, for instance, when he needed to get some books. Because books tended to be in libraries. Now he might not like the place so much but he could enjoy a good book. Of course, that meant he didn’t like reading in here. That was not his intention right now though. Right now, he wanted to be over with some work.

He got a bunch of book next to him and been taking notes and writing down what would be a draft of it. This was eating his concentration quickly though and it didn’t take long before he started feeling some cramps in his hand. He massaged it, went back to work but he get fed up after thirty or forty minutes of this. Plus his hand could really use a break. It tended to get cramps whenever he wrote without much of a break for a long period of time. Long being only a few minutes but it was long for him nonetheless.

He looked at all the notes he took. It was enough not to check out all those books or coming back here again to look them up once more. There was still one he would take with him, as well as a novel, because even a guy like him could use a good crime story to pass the time. He tossed his notebooks in his bag and grabbed the books to the front desk to check the two of them.

Akeem actually sighed of relief once he was out of the library. It was too calm in here, he always felt restless after spending too long in there. He shook himself up a bit before taking his bag once again to shove the books in there with the rest of his stuff.

TAG: Evelyn Conner

[Evelyn Conner]

She's seen him walking out from the library, and her first instinct had been to turn around, and walk away. Of course, then Evelyn had to remind herself who, exactly, she was. A Conner didn't run away. Not from anything, not even a boy who clearly seemed to have something on his agenda. She had looked the boy up already, and she knew about his power, which of course made her even more cautious. But, she wasn't going to run away. Hopefully, she could simply walk past him and that would be it.

But then she had to remind herself that her parents had also taught her manners.

Walking forward, Evelyn's hands hang down her sides and her chin was held high - as always, it was clear that the brunette was filled with confidence from the way she walked, to the way she dressed. Her uniform was tidy and neat, just like her. Her hair hang down her shoulders, straight as ever. Furrowing her brows, she continued onward, her gaze straight forward, never wavering.

She didn't stop until she reached him. Her eyebrow quirked slightly as an amused smirk formed on her lips. She gave him a quick once over before opening her mouth to speak, "Mr. Ten Amen," she greeted him. "You're looking awfully out of it today," she commented, but continued before allowing the boy much time to respond. "Reading not doing it for you? A shame. And here I was about to give you the benefit of the doubt." Her smirk widened slightly. "Ah well."

Now, if only she had been more experienced with his power, so she could actually detect when it was being used - and resist it. Sadly, she didn't have such experience, so this could easily turn out in the boy's favor.

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

Evelyn had not been someone he had seen that much lately. He didn’t want to go after her however. If he did, she would have the upper hand. Still, with each passing day she did not come to him, Akeem felt as though he had left no impression on her whatsoever. And this was frustrating. Especially since he let out some pheromones near the end. Shouldn’t she be intrigued, at the very least? She didn’t seem to have a power that neutralized pheromones so it really started to taste like the oh so bitter taste of failure. He hated it.

He almost did not notice her as she walked towards him. People passing by was a common thing around here, you grew accustomed to find someone coming near you and you stopped thinking you were their intended destination. Somehow, maybe the fact his eyes recognized the face before his brain did, he looked back again and noticed it was her. He was able not to smirk but he really was doing it inside. Yes. It worked. She was coming to him. Now he had an advantage, as it meant he caught enough of her interest for her to come to him.

Of course, she would not let him gloat in this for very long. It was her fun, it seemed, to make him a low creature bowing down to her greatness. She was doing it in a very different way than Ellen however. That did not make him like it any better though. “Miss Conner, pleasant surprise,” he replied. She seemed to like being formal so he would do it. He was slightly surprised though to what she said. He looked out of it? He didn’t notice. “Actually, it’s writing that’s not doing it for me. I enjoy reading, when the book is interesting. Schoolbooks seldom are,” he pointed out. He was doing his best for any word she gave him seemed to affect him as little as possible. But he didn’t like it and hoped to turn things eventually. The sooner the better.

“Is that all you had to tell me? Harsh words suggesting I’m illiterate? I was hoping for something more in the lines of ‘fancy seeing you here’ or ‘how are you doing this fine day’. Does that mean I cannot tell you those words in return?” He had a soft, falsely innocent smile while saying so. She wanted to lower him, he would mock her efforts.

[Evelyn Conner]

Pleasant surprise? She somehow doubted it. But, she wasn't going to argue. At least it was better than some of the greetings she'd received over the years. And it was a lot less offending, too. Besides, it seemed as if the boy had finally caught onto this whole "being formal" ordeal Evelyn seemed to prefer sticking to. It made things less personal, which was exactly how she preferred it. Everything, to Eve, was business. Always had been. "I'd say that depends on the school book," she said, her brown eyes dropping to his back, before quickly fleeting back up again. "You know, that's why most people write their notes on a computer. To avoid cramps, I mean." Then again, it was easy to forget that not everyone could afford their own laptop.

His smile had the brunette furrowing her brows. She didn't at all like the look he offered her, and it almost made her take a step back. She recognized the smile; it was the smile of a predator pretending to be the prey. "Ah, Mr. Ten-Amen, by now you should realize that's not at all how I operate. Maybe you need another lesson." The corner of her lips tugged upwards into a smirk. "And I can hardly control the things you tell me. As much as I'm sure it doesn't feel that way, you are your own person. Quite capable of making your own decisions too, I'm sure." Then again, maybe he was nothing more than a foolish tool with a brain on the size of a peanut.

She had yet to actually make her mind up on that. He was interesting. She had to admit to that. She wanted to figure him out, but also knew that it was a horrible move on her part. Not because she couldn't handle his personality, but because she didn't trust him, nor his ability. Yet, here she was. Still talking to him when she should have walked away. It was funny how things worked out sometimes. She wondered if perhaps it was his power, as opposed to curiosity about the unknown.

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

Yes, she was a pleasant surprise. She might not agree to this but she was. He’d get her. He didn’t know exactly how he would get her or what he would do after but he would. Because of all those people in this school, she was one of the few worth having on your side. There were some you kept out of amusement or because they could write your schoolwork for you. She was able to offer him more, if he played it right. He didn’t know yet what the ‘right’ way was but he’ll find out. He didn’t like the hard to get people but sometimes it was worth the effort.

“Well those I just read from sure weren’t,” he let out, leaving her to determine if it really was the books’ fault or his. He looked down at his hand, moving it to remove the cramp. He barely felt it right now but he knew the moment he’ll put a pencil in it again and tried to write some more it would come back. “Yeah, I would have only I didn’t have any computer with me there. Forgot the laptop in my room,” he explained. He could afford one. He was not poor. She better not think he was poor. He would lose all chances then.

Akeem tilted his head to the side, his eyes growing wide as he patiently waited for her to give him a ‘lesson’ on how she operated. Instead, she ignored his comments and only claimed he could say whatever he wanted. “I certainly can and that is what I just did. I expressed my pleasure to meet you and asked how you were doing. That is, I heard, what civilized people did when meeting someone they know. Or perhaps I should just ask you what you wanted, since you are the one who came to me in the first place.” He tried to mimic her tone of voice but he couldn’t help the teasing to show in it. She could walk away right now, he would still remind her she was the one who came to him, not the other way around.

[Evelyn Conner]

Well, she could hardly flaw the boy for that. School work and their books weren't for everyone. It would be stupid of her to think such things. Even Evelyn found the whole studying part incredibly tedious, but that was also because she had been taught everything she needed to know from the day she could understand words. She simply continued school to get the degree - not because she needed to learn the stuff. Her parents had crafted both her and her twin carefully, and they had been treated more like business investments than kids. "I see," she replied, her lips pursing. "Well, then I suppose you can only blame yourself for your cramp."

She felt the urge to roll her eyes. She didn't know what game this guy was trying to play at, and she wasn't even sure she really wanted to know. After all, it wasn't like he had any reason to be nice to her, unless there was something he wanted. Then, if that was the case, then Evelyn had preferred it if he'd simply come out with it instead of dragging their time out. But, he did however, make a very good point. She had been the one to come up to him. "There's nothing I want from you. I can assure you of that, Mr. Ten-Amen. You were simply in my eyesight, and simply ignoring you would hardly be polite. That doesn't mean I'm going to treat you like an old friend."

Her arms came up to cross over her chest, but she kept her somewhat strained smile plastered on her lips. Maybe she was being irrational by being so cautious about the boy. There was just this nagging feeling she couldn't quite shake, which put her own guard. Maybe it was his sudden interest in her, or maybe it was his power. She wasn't sure, but something about him made her feel off, and she didn't like it. She wondered then, if maybe, just maybe, he'd already used his power on her.

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

Legal terms were so boring. He did love to play with technicalities but it sure was not something you studied for if you hated reading. He spent more time his nose in books studying laws and trials and all their intricacies than he did listening to the teacher talking of these things. He wanted to be prepared. They couldn’t watch him all his life, if he wanted to be a lawyer there was little they could do about it. Right? It was not like they could ban him from every law school in the country. Right?

“I had no intention of blaming anyone else,” he assured her. After all, it was his hand. He didn’t know why he got them so easily. It could be the way he held the pencil or just that he was not writing enough with one for his hand muscles to get used to it. He didn’t know and did not really care for that matter. They were at times where they had computers everywhere and didn’t need paper and pencil so much. He would live with his cramps.

“Oh, so it was just to acknowledge my presence and the fact we know each other? I can deal with that but once again you ignore me when I try to be civil,” he pointed out. Maybe she did not want to do some small talk. She didn't strike him as the kind to want it which was why he was curious she had yet asked him what his intentions may be. “We can’t call each other old friend yet, this is only the second time we talk. Unless this is not something you do? because if that’s the case, I totally wasted my chance the first time.”

[Evelyn Conner]

Sighing, Evelyn's head shook. "Then maybe you should take the hint," she commented. She took a step to the side, allowing the boy to walk away if that was what he wanted. She wasn't going to stand here and argue about manners. She was curious, sure, but that didn't necessarily mean she at all enjoyed the time she'd spent talking to this boy. It was a tedious thing, indeed. "You did waste your time," she agreed. "But no, we're not friends, and I don't suspect we're going to be either."

She didn't know what it was the boy wanted, but it was obvious that there was something. It could be anything, to be certain, but she suspected it had something to do with her last name. After all, that was usually the only reason people sought her out. It seemed as if most people understood that she was hardly the kind of person you approached to have a simple or friendly chat with.

She didn't do those kind of things, and the fact that she couldn't quite make out why, exactly, he bothered, was part of why she was still standing here. "What exactly is that you're hoping to achieve with this?" Clearly, it had to be important enough for him to even bother going through all of this.

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

“And maybe you should understand that I’m tenacious,” Akeem replied to her. He did not move as she walked to the side. He was not going anywhere. Not until he tried a few more things on Evelyn, test them out, see if he might actually get her, even just a tiny bit. Well, he already did, obviously, or she wouldn’t be here. She would have left, as soon as he pointed out the fact she was the one who showed up here.

“Why do I feel like you’re saying I wasting it because I talked to you in the first place as opposed of me not choosing the right words? How can someone this confident and strong be so certain she’s uninteresting for the world?” Akeem was seriously curious about this. It didn’t seem to fit together. He had lots of confidence and even if he would gladly admit not being perfect he would never think people should avoid him because he had no personality or any other reason of the like.

He said nothing about her claiming they would never be friends. Saying otherwise would make him sound clingy. She was free to think that. Anyway, he was not sure they would be friends, per se. He supposed it was something that remained to be seen. He could deal with no label anyway. Those could make it so complicated at times.

She finally asked him. It meant it was time for him to really ask himself the same question. He paused, thinking about it. “Would you believe me if I said I’m not so sure myself?” Certainly not, but that was still the case. He wanted to be on her good side, that much was sure, but he currently needed nothing specific out of her or her family. He had money, although his father was not the most giving man with that, he could have a status here without her help and didn’t need cheat sheets for his classes. “Honestly, had it not been for Ellen trying to have me on her side rather than yours, I never would have cared knowing who the Conners were,” he admitted, shrugging as he said those words, not caring if Ellen would be pissed if she could hear him. But she couldn’t and even if that was the case, he didn’t care. “Besides, you’re someone who doesn’t seem to take anyone’s shit and sees life for what it is. Maybe that’s not making you a fun gal but I like that attitude.”

[Evelyn Conner]

"I honestly could care less, Mr. Ten-Amen," she replied. He could be as persistent as he wanted, and yes, she had to admit that there was something that kept her in place, but sooner or later, that something was going to wear off and she'd completely lose her interest in this boy. Personally, she hoped that was sooner, rather than later. This was starting to become an ugly habit she'd rather have killed before it could evolve into something much, much more annoying.

Her head tilted slightly as she processed the words of the boy. She smirked slightly before nodding. "Because it's true. It's not a sign of lack of confidence, however, but rather self-awareness. I am less interesting because I choose to be." She had no interest in people on a general basis, and she could count two people whose presence she actually enjoyed. Everyone else was nothing more than a tedious waste of her time. She had a feeling her interaction with this boy would be the same. It was almost a little frustrating that she seemed incapable of walking away. Maybe on some deeper level, she enjoyed having someone who actually managed to go head to head with her that wasn't her brother.

"No, of course not," she replied. Though, she supposed she could understand it if that was the case. Not that she saw any reason for him to be - most people wanted something, anything, and this boy was no different. She'd much rather have him come clean so they could stop beating around the bush like this. Quirking her brow at his next words, Evelyn's head shook briefly. "Ah, so that's what this is about," she commented dryly. She supposed then, that the boy's interest had festered from Ellen's harsh words. He'd grown curious and decided to see what all the fuss was about. "There's plenty of people like that around, Mr. Ten-Amen, so I suppose you should start looking for someone a lot more accepting to your shit." With that, Evelyn stepped to the side and started walking forward.

"I'm sure you'll have better luck with Miss. Banks. Good day."

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

“Why would you do that?” Akeem let out. Everything about his, his facial expression, his tone, showed that he didn’t get why someone would purposefully choose to look less interesting than what they really were. It was not all that hard to blow people off if they were annoying. She seemed pretty good at that. Why decide to be boring? Akeem could not understand. Of course, he could never be boring. He had to be loud sometimes, to get the attention of others. He could not live his life with everyone around him not knowing who he was. He could not satisfy himself with that. He might not want the whole world to see him but he certainly could not have them think him uninteresting.

He was not surprised that she did not believe him. It must be hard to. Especially for her. He bet she had quite a few people coming after her in her to have some advantages from knowing the Conner girl. Maybe it was why she chose to be less interesting but he still didn’t see the point in that. He would never become less than what he was on a regular basis just to get people off his back. He shrugged. “Not entirely. I might have stuck around without knowing who you were but it’s true I was curious to know what got her so upset. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t give a shit about what’s going on between you two but, like I said, I like to make my own opinion. When someone says they hate someone else, I’m kind of curious. Especially when I don’t exactly like that first person to begin with.” He knew he called her a friend before but that was not exactly true. He bet she considered hi an employee. And Akeem refused to be considered that by someone as snotty as Ellen Banks.

“Why are you so defensive with me? I get your blunt and don’t like your time to be wasted but that’s a lot, even for someone who doesn’t want people to be interested in her. What have I done to you?” She didn’t know, did she?

[Evelyn Conner]

"Why not?" Now, Evelyn saw no need for her to justify her actions to a curious passerby. She did what she did because she wanted to, and really, that was all there was to it. She did it because she could. Which was easy for the richest kid on campus to say, but it wasn't a lie. Besides, she wasn't about to stand here and argue about something as sincerely stupid as such a topic. At the end of the day, did it matter? No, no it did not.

She waited for him to finish his speech; Sure, she understood perfectly what he meant and why he did what he did, but that didn't mean Eve particularly enjoyed being the center of someone's curiosity. She'd rather have the boy ask what he was curious about and be on his way. Clearly, getting rid of him was easier said than done. "Curiosity killed the cat, Mr. Ten-Amen," she commented, her eyebrow quirking. It seemed as if Ellen had a much bigger mouth than what she'd expected, and surely, Ellen never took the blame for anything that happened in this world. No, she was much too prideful for something like that.

Which made Evelyn wonder why someone like this boy could be assed to hang around her.

"That's where you're wrong," she said, looking straight at him. "It's never personal with me." After all, she was this blunt and defensive with everyone she met. Just because she didn't particularly like the boy, didn't mean he got special treatment. "You're hardly special enough to get special treatment. You can take that as an insult if you'd like, but at the end of the day, it's nothing more than the simple truth." With that, the brunette continued walking; hopefully, this time, he wouldn't follow her, nor make any attempts to stop her.

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

Could this girl ever give a full answer? Why did it always have to be something along the lines of ‘this is how I do things and I don’t need to justify myself to you’? Sure, she didn’t, but damn, this was getting tiresome to keep trying to pull out one word out of her. Despite the frustration she was giving him, he kept trying. He was curious to see how far he could go and if his efforts would ever pay. That, and he was bored and she happened to be a really nice distraction. He knew he could get her pissed off if he went too far but at least she would now take an interest in him. Oh, she would be so angry if he pointed that out! Well, maybe not, she seemed to have only boredom in terms of emotions but he bet that inside she wouldn’t be pleased to see him win in the end. She wouldn’t hit too hard. Would she?

She went for some old saying as only comment. He did not sigh however, he merely shrugged it off. “Maybe, but I’m sure he had a good time first,” he replied. He was not going to let her win an argument with that. He had a feeling Evelyn just had to have the last word in this. It was just so easy to add something else and watch her turn around in hope to shut him up for good, then be on her way and say something else.

He walked after her after she tried to assure him there was nothing personal in the way she treated him. It was not hard for him to walk past her and turn around so stand in her way. He bet she didn’t have a lot of friends. In fact, she probably had none. Who could take being treated like this by a friend? And Akeem was going after that. “Maybe I’m not special but that’s more than just me wasting your time with my big mouth. You’re the one who came to me to mock me so I think I’m entitled to know why.”

She might just say no. She was likely to say no. Yet, at the same time, he thought she might just tell him. She was not entirely without manners. But, just in case... “You want me off your back, you know what you have to do now.”

[Evelyn Conner]

Rolling her eyes, Evelyn shook her head. She had met her fair share of arrogant and cocky people, but this guy was something different entirely. The most annoying part was that she'd yet to actually walk away. Despite her complaints and insults, she was the one still standing. Sometimes, such as right now, Evelyn wished she wasn't as self-aware as she was. She would happily have gone on living without knowing that despite her best efforts, he got to her. On what level, and how much, she didn't know. But he still did.

Stopping abruptly to avoid walking into him, the brunette peered up at the much taller boy, her brows furrowing. "And now I'm the one walking away," she commented, her arms coming up to cross over her chest. She pursed her lips in hopes that her mean glare would be enough to send him running. Of course it wasn't. If nothing had chased him away thus far, she sincerely doubted she could do a whole lot - save for boring him to death, maybe.

A heavy sigh fell from the brunette's lips and head head tilted slightly. Just like that? That was all she had to do? It seemed almost a little too simple. "I want you off my back," she said dryly, her brows raising expectantly. She wondered if it honestly was that easy. That that was all it took and he'd leave her alone for good. Somehow, she had a feeling that if he hadn't taken the hint thus far, her telling him to leave her alone wouldn't do a whole lot...

...she could always hope though, right? "There you have it. Now..." She stepped to the side.

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

Akeem wouldn’t have minded had she fell into his arms but he was not surprised she managed to stop right on time. She was probably the one person he knew with the most control of herself. Would have been nice to know the effect he had on her but it was hard to know for sure. He was certain she was not entirely indifferent of him but how intrigued she really happened to be, he was not sure. He had to guess it in order to play his cards right. It was a good thing that he was a risk taker.

No glare she could give him, no stern attitude she could take would work on him. She was not the first one to glare at him, he grew almost immune to that. The day she would actually do something against him he might learn not to stand in her way. Until then, her eyes might scream at him to get away he was going nowhere. All she said was that she wanted him off her back. She thought that would do the trick? He stepped to the side, like her, to block the way.

“Not good enough. I’ve told you I’m still here because I find you interesting. You tell me why you blow hot and cold on me than I walk off. That easy. Or don’t you know the answer?” She was annoying. Part of Akeem just wanted to say that to her, perhaps even shake her or something of the like, maybe even make her bleed just to see if she was human. But, at the same time, the more she wanted to push him away, the more he was interested in sticking around.