Happened by Chance

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina had just left the club, her short skirt and tight top were meant to draw the eye, and her high heels certainly helped, but she wasn’t looking for a fuck right now. She’d just gotten enough to drink from the more gullible men in the bar to set her for the night so she was on her way home. And sure, she was slightly tipsy, but what did she care? She could still take care of herself if she had to, and she knew it too. Selina wouldn’t exactly be at her best or anything, but she could manage, and that was all she cared about at the moment.


    She looked up the road and saw a man with a cigarette and felt a tinge of envy. She rarely smoked, but for some reason it seemed like a great idea tonight. Selina wondered if she could bum one off of him, but decided against it. She swore as she stumbled slightly, accidentally bumping into an older guy. Shit. He didn’t look like the type of sleaze who would try anything, but usually running into middle aged men in the middle of the night wasn’t exactly a good thing.


    Selina was instantly on edge, her mind the clearer and sharper because of the sudden adrenaline rushing through her veins, “Terribly sorry, sir,” she offered. Shit, she was so not in the mood for this. She just hoped he wasn’t going to cause trouble, as that was the last thing she needed tonight.

[Axel Jonasen]

As a girl stumbled into him, Axel braced himself against it. His eyes flicked to the girl when she apologize. He hadn't been called "sir" by anyone in a long time. He was forced to crack a smile. It was sort of funny. He was the last type of guy that should ever be called 'sir'.

"It's fine," Axel assured the girl, taking the cigarette out of his mouth to speak clearly. "Are you alright?"

She seemed to be pretty drunk but very aware. Axel tilted his head a touch to the side, very much conscious of the fact that he was being seen as a potential threat by the girl. He shifted his weight to stand more casually to signal that he was relaxed and non-threatening.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina backed up a step and nodded after she regained her balance, "I'm fine, thanks," she offered easily. She was. Really. She might be a bit unstable at the moment, but she was fine.

    Selina noticed his shift in posture, and while she was grateful, she was also aware that manipulative men were just as adept at controlling their body language as honest men who were merely trying to be considerate. He didn't seem too sleazy though. At least he hadn't tried to cop a feel or anything when she'd stumbled. That was always a plus.

    Her guard didn't lower in the slightest, but she glanced at his cigarette with a slight longing in her gaze nonetheless. Damn she shouldn't have let that last guy buy her so many shots. Actually, who the hell was she kidding? She would have drank more if he hadn't run out of money.

[Axel Jonasen]

Axel watched the girl flatly, taking in her bar star outfit, gauging how drunk she was. He had no interest in the tight, short skirt, no matter how pretty or sexy other people might find her. Sure, she was nice to look at, but Axel had never been the type to go for girls. Or men. Or anyone. He had no real desire for that kind of stuff.

He noticed the girl's eyes on his cigarette. He took another drag off the smoke before holding it out. "Want?" He offered simply. He had plenty of cigarettes and always did. Cigarettes were the one thing that Axel was happy to hand out for free. If the girl wanted anything else, however, he would have to charge.

She probably didn't know who he was, anyway. Axel hadn't seen her around before, and he would have remembered selling to her. Kalispell wasn't that big and his client base was still new.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina wasn't really the type to give a damn about the assumptions others would make about her regarding her outfit, her drunk state, or the fact that she was out this late alone. It didn't make sense to worry about people she didn't know or care about, so she merely regarded him with a calculating glance, before nodding and accepting the offered cigarette, "Thanks," she said quietly before taking slow drag and enjoying the feel of it.

    She'd forgotten how relaxing this could be. Selina took another drag before sighing and watching the smoke as it slowly dissipated. "You don't look like you're from Kalispell," she offered simply. "Your eyes are a bit too hard," she added with a sly glance in his direction. The way he carried himself, the way he'd spoken, and the way he hadn't seemed to care about the fact that she clearly wasn't from the area either were also quite different from the average here.

    She might be completely wrong of course, but he reminded her of the people she went to school with in Santiago far more than most around here. Usually she wouldn't ask someone she wasn't planning on getting close to for more physical purposes, but right now, she was drunk, her inhibitions were lowered, and she was flat out curious. Besides, if she was wrong, she likely wouldn't be seeing him again anyway. 

[Axel Jonasen]

"Your eyes are a bit too hard."

Now that was an interesting statement. Axel looked at the girl more closely. What had prompted her to make that assessment? People usually commented on his facial expressions, but having her comment on his eyes seemed very specific.

Either way, she was right. "I'm from Germany originally," Axel told her. He shrugged his shoulders. He didn't delve in any deeper than that. He wasn't the kind of guy to run his mouth about every detail of his life to a total stranger.

"Where are you from, then?" Axel asked. The way she spoke, it was making him think that she wasn't from Kalispell.

[Selina Taylor]

    Eyes were the first things Selina ever noticed about people. She was straight forward and usually had no trouble keeping eye contact with another person. They were the window to the soul some said. Selina wasn't sure that she agreed, but she could tell a lot about a person from their gaze alone. 

    Ahh, Germany. That was interesting. She wondered if he was somehow connected to the school, as usually, Bellefonte was the only draw for people int this tiny American town. She didn't ask though. The one Russian she'd met hadn't been here for any other reason than needing a quiet place to stay out of the city, so perhaps this one had his own reasons. She wasn't ready to out herself as a mutant to someone who might be a civilian.

    "I'm from Chile," she offered simply. She didn't see the need to offer more, as he hadn't either. She kept her cards close to her chest until she knew enough about a person to feel comfortable around them.

[Axel Jonasen]

"Chile," Axel remarked in his usual flat tone. "That's quite the ways away. Are you a student at the school?"

The school was obviously referring to Bellefonte Academy. Axel knew what the academy was, he had even scoped out the campus once or twice. But he didn't know that many students from the school... maybe two. He only knew of them because he was selling them weed.

He drew in deep on his cigarette again. He had never gone to Bellefonte, he had gone to two different academis while he was a kid, one in Ohio and one in Germany. He bounced between countries when he was young. Two divorced parents in what felt like half the world away from each other, made for a tumultuous childhood.

Axel blew a cloud of smoke out into the night air.

[Selina Taylor]

    Interesting. The way he asked the question made it rather clear he didn't give much of a damn one way or another. That was nice. Perhaps he didn't realize what the school really was, or maybe he did. Either way, she figured it wouldn't hurt if she was honest, "I am, actually." 

    "Are you involved with the school in some way?" she asked in curiosity. That would make this encounter slightly hazardous on her part. She was underage and very clearly tipsy. She didn't really care too much, because if she hadn't seen him until now with how long she'd been there, there was a chance she wouldn't see him again until she graduated.

    Selina also hadn't told him her age, so there would be no reason for him to take notice. All of her thoughts took less than a brief second to flick through her mind and all predicated on a possibility that may or may not have any truth to it. She didn't care though. Selina rarely took chances she couldn't afford and her racing mind could actually help her out on occasion.

[Axel Jonasen]

Axel shook his head at her question. "Not involved, no." He pitched the cigarette he was smoking to the ground and tapped it out with the heel of his boot. "I'm just aware of it. I went to a similar academy when I was your age."

When he was her age. That was fucking ages ago, it felt like. The girl was quite young. He suspected she was underaged, but that wasn't his business. He wasn't looking to pick her up, not tonight or ever. His interest in sex was essentially nonexistent. But damn, she did look very young and very alone. A memory of his sister Karoline flickered in the back of his mind.

"Are you leaving?" He asked. "If you need a ride somewhere, I can take you."

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina almost breathed a sigh of relief at his not being connected with Bellefonte, but managed not to. He'd gone to a similar academy? Another mutant then? Or perhaps someone who had wealthy parents. Selina decided not to say anything. It was usually the wisest decision when dealing with strange men, even if they seemed at least partially decent.

    At his question, her suspicion rose a bit. Selina wondered if he often took drunk underage girls home with a twisted smirk. She then weighed her chances with him against trying to take the bus back. At least this way she didn't have to wait alone at a stop. Selina thought over her limited possibilities before studying him again. She could probably give him a damn good fight if she were sober... but she wasn't.

    "Sure, why not?" she replied easily after only a second's hesitation. She could still put up a fight even while drunk after all. She wouldn't be nearly as good as she normally was, and he'd have a huge advantage, but she could care less at this point.  

[Axel Jonasen]

Axel made a motion with his hand to indicate the direction of his vehicle. He wasn't parked too far away. He didn't know if there just weren't that many people out partying that night, or maybe the taxis were making lots of money. Whichever it was, he had found good parking.

That seemed to work best in this young girl's favour. She seemed tipsy in more ways than one in her high heeled shoes.

Axel began to lead the way to his car, fishing his keys from his pants pocket. Then, he glanced at the girl and slowed his pace. He had a tendency to move quick. That's how he had always been. A fast moving, fast thinking man.

He held out the crook of his elbow to her, offering to help her balance as they walked. It wouldn't do if she stumbled and fell again. The concrete tended to be less forgiving than Axel was.