Jump For My Love

[Ezra Cooper]

Ezra was starting to get all pruney and wrinkly from being in the water for too long and so he decided to get out of the lake. Only for a little bit since he still wanted to enjoy the water. Especially since one of his closest friends was still in there. In her bikini.

As he dried off, he realised Alex had also stepped out and he immediately grabbed at her towel, holding it up into the air with his tongue sticking out.

"Sorry Miss Lawson...you're gonna have to jump really high to grab at this here towel." He nodded earnestly. Okay maybe there was another ulterior motive to doing this but making Alex work at getting things from a certain was pretty damn hilarious to Ezra, if not a little mean.

Alexandra Lawson

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex, for all her talents would forever be lacking in one, crucial skill that many of her fellow students took for granted. She was adept at dance and even some tumbling that came from years on the cheer squad. That she possessed a deceptively powerful, if not raw singing voice was known to only those closest to her and she made use of her aptitude with a video game controller on a regular basis. And yet, through it all, Alex was decidedly terrible and retrieving items from high places.

Knowing this, Alex's eyes narrowed as she glared at Ezra. It always seemed as though the tall, slender young man never passed up on opportunity to remind Alex of her rather diminutive stature. "Oh come on!" She protested with her arms folded across her chest. "That's not fair!" A bit of a pout touched her lips and she moved forward, reaching up to try and give a futile swipe for her towel.

[Ezra Cooper]

Looking down at the petite pyro, Ezra couldn't help the affectionate grin on his face. She looked much too adorable for him to continue being a jerk to her. But being Ezra, he did continue.

"Come on! Put your cheerleading skills to good use. Jump! Do the star thingie." He said with a chuckle.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Ezra's mocking words caused Alex to pause. Her head tilted to one side as she peered up to her much taller friend. "That's still not fair." She insisted, obviously not having the slightest clue about the 'star thing' Ezra was talking about. "You're lucky I love you, you know?" She said, the pout that had only been hinted at now coming out in full force. She almost looked as though she was about to stamp her feet in frustration as well.

"Why can't you just..." Alex hopped upward in hopes of catching Ezra off guard so she could take another swipe at the towel he held. Letting out a huff of breath, Alex gave the much taller Ezra a bap on the shoulder. She had to take her frustration out on something and Ezra, being the source, seemed as good a target as any. "... be normal?" Although she already knew the answer to that.

After another futile hop, Alex let out an audible grumble before deciding to take Ezra's advice to heart. Though there was little use for such a thing in cheerleading, Alex jumped again, this time onto Ezra's back. Her legs wrapped around his torso as she began to scale the tall, lanky young man like he was a tree. "You suck!" She whined, swiping again for the towel to no avail before continuing to pull herself up higher.

[Ezra Cooper]

The pout was seriously getting to Ezra but he managed to persevere. Although it didn't help that she said the words he liked to hear coming from her. Even if it only had friendly connotations. Better than nothing.

He did almost get distracted enough that he lowered his hand but he managed to pull up just in time, hearing Alex's question and chuckling at it. "Not in my DNA." He shook his head, though he knew exactly what she meant.

The whack on his shoulder did nothing to bring his hand down.

That was, until Alex grabbed on to his shoulder, managing to straddle his waist. He almost lost his balance at the weight he was suddenly pulling. "Dude!" He chuckled as he tried to regain balance by putting his arms out. In an effort to not drop Alex however, the grip he had on her towel loosened just as he reached around to grab at her legs, steadying both of them at the same time.

"Oh see now you've made me drop your towel."

[Alexandra Lawson]

As Ezra stumbled and nearly fell, Alex let out a childlike giggle. It was almost like a carnival ride and, even though she slipped just enough for the threat of her falling awkwardly to the ground was very real, she still hung on with an enthusiastic 'whooo!'. Once Ezra was stable, however, the quest continued and Alex quickly began to pull herself higher up Ezra's torso, getting ever so close to her target.

With a resigned sigh, Alex slumped forward. She'd worked her way up to where her legs were now wrapped around Ezra's chest, just beneath his arms. Her fingers had barely grazed the towel before it fell to the ground. Her arms dropped before gently wrapping around Ezra's neck. Her hair, still damp from the afternoon swim fell to the sides of her face and clung to the bare skin of Ezra's shoulders. "I'm too high." She said meekly, knowing just how to tug at Ezra's strings the way he could push her buttons. "Help me down." Though she kept her arms and legs around him.

[Ezra Cooper]

It was kind of weird having an almost naked tiny person clinging on to him, Ezra thought as he managed to straighten himself up. Especially when it was someone he had practically grown up with.

Hearing her voice drop slightly had him pouting. She knew exactly what to do to make him feel bad but he was determined not to let her get her way.

"No. You wanna climb me, you're gonna have to deal with the consequences." He jumped on the spot just to give her an idea of what she was about to be part of.

"I should grab the towel before it gets dirty." He said before he rushedly bent over to pick it up.

[Alexandra Lawson]

For a moment Alex couldn't help but remain still. Regardless of the fact that Ezra was more like a brother to her than her own, actual brother back home in many ways, she paused to take in the soft warmth of bare skin pressed against hers. She issued a low sigh even as Ezra hadn't taken the guilt-bait she'd laid out and started to shift to lean down. She gave another squeak and laughed before unwrapping her legs and letting them dangle out beneath her for a moment. "Ezra!" She laughed, her hold around his neck tightening a bit before she let go and slid down his back and landed on the ground.

"You suck!" She protested, wobbling a bit to keep her balance before her eyes narrowed and she quickly reached out with both hands to grip the bottoms of his swim trunks. "This is what you get!" She shouted in premature triumph before jerking downward in an attempt to unceremoniously rid Ezra of the modesty his shorts provided. In the same motion she lunged forward in an attempt to scramble to the towel in hopes she could use the distraction to snatch it up and make a clean getaway.

[Ezra Cooper]

He felt her sliding down his back, which made his bending over a lot easier but it did also help her to pull down his trunks, revealing his butt. "Not cool, Lawson!" He yelled out, straightening up to pull his trunks up.

His face heated up as he looked around to where she had disappeared to only to see her grabbing at her towel. "Oh no you don't." He needed to only take one step before his arms circled around Alex's tiny body, lifting her up in one sweep, holding her against him as his fingers started to tickle her sides in his hold.

[Alexandra Lawson]

"Damn these tiny legs!" Alex cursed her diminutive stature in an overly dramatic fashion. With a clenched fist she shouted up to the sky. She had felt the fabric of the towel against her fingertips before being pulled back and lifted off her feet. She had been so close. If only she could have covered ground faster she may have been able to get away. It didn't help that Ezra was so damn tall and had arms like tree branches. It was inhuman. Or, at least it was compared to someone who barely cleared five feet tall.

Alex didn't have time to bemoan her new position clutched against Ezra, legs dangling, for very long. The moment she dropped her hand and issued a sigh she felt the piercing jolt of fingers pushing into her side. A loud shriek exploded out of her tiny body and she immediately erupted into a flailing hurricane of squeals and damp, red hair. "Stoppit!" She managed between bouts of uncontrolled laughter. "You deserved it!" There was more squirming in vain. Her only hope was to try and slip out of his grip while he tried to keep her up in the air and tickle her at the same time. "You deserve everything you get!"

[Ezra Cooper]

Ezra laughed at Alex's reaction to being picked up, moreso when he started tickling her. "What do I deserve, Lawson?" He asked, still tickling her.

She was a struggler this little one was and if he wasn't careful, or she wasn't, he was going to lose his grip and make her fall. Probably on her butt.

[Alexandra Lawson]

It was a shame Ezra hadn't been more careful. Or that Alex hadn't been blindly squirming and attempting to twist out of his grasp. Through it all Alex forgot one very crucial point. That Ezra, in spite of being the source of the infernal tickling that was already causing tears to stream down her beet red face, was also the one thing keeping her from falling to the ground. She got her wish, though, and managed to escape Ezra's firm grip only to find herself slipping out and promptly tumbling to the soft, damp soil beneath her.

After landing with a squeak, Alex couldn't help but continue to laugh. Even though she was, for now, free from the horrible, tickling embrace of her much taller companion, the raspy laughing didn't stop. She hadn't quite landed on her rear, she'd managed to get her feet beneath her just enough to prevent any injury, though she did catch a rock in the cheek which only made everything all the more hilarious. She promptly rolled onto her side, then to her back, clutching at her stomach. "I did it again." She panted between guffaws. "I broke my ass."

[Ezra Cooper]

The inevitable finally happened and it stunned Ezra for a second before he got on his knees to see if Alex is okay. Only to find that she was giggling away like a maniac. Had she hit her head?

And then her statement broke the boy's brain and he started chuckling. He too got on to the ground, clutching his torso as he laughed.

"I can't believe you just said that." He wiped at his eyes as he reviewed the situation. "Oh God...Al are you okay?"

[Alexandra Lawson]

"I'll stop saying it when it stops happening." Alex gasped for air as she tried to calm herself. The laughing fit had nearly reached epic proportions but she'd thankful manage to regain enough control to prevent it from pushing into the territory where she laughed with no sound. "I still hate you." She managed to weakly push the words out as she peered up to Ezra, squinting in the sun so she could get a better look at him.

A few moments of laying in the soft, damp dirt under the bright sun seemed to work wonders in calming the laughter. Though the broad smile remained on her face, Alex's eyes closed as she stretched herself out, legs extended and arms up over her head. She let the sun's rays beat down on her, warming her skin that had been cooled from her recent swim. "God this makes me miss California." She said wistfully.

[Ezra Cooper]

The admission that she hated him made Ezra chuckle and nod. "Okay." He let this one slide. He was still trying to catch his breath from his laughing spiel as Alex made the comment about missing home.

"When was the last time you went home?" He asked as he made to sit next to her. His position offered the best view of her without making it obvious that he was staring.