[CO]Eaten Alive

[Erin Hackett]

Who had thought this was a good idea? To make it mandatory for students to go outside and be a part of a cookout thing. Did they not understand that there were students who were built for the indoor style of leaving? Yes, Erin did go outside from time to time but that was mostly to get from class to class and get some real sunlight at least a little bit. Never had she actually remained outside for who knew how long this event was going to last, and all she knew was that she was likely going to die. Right there, outside in front of all the billions of people that were out having fun or also not so pleased to be outside right now.

Okay, so there was not actually a billion people and Erin was used to being around a lot more people then this but that was only because of where she grew up. even then she had a slightly hard time actually functioning when she had to be in large crowds. So to avoid getting a panic attack, she was off to herself, away from the protection the smoke from the grills would have offered her from the bugs. They clearly were trying to get in their last meals before the weather killed them all and they loved them some ginger blood.

Damn bugs. Erin had made sure to put some sun block on but it was just her luck that she had run out of bug spray. "Ugh, leave me be! Stop trying to take what nutrients I have!" Erin said as she swatted at yet another bug that had been feasting on her blood. You think they would hate her blood considering it was not always that healthy. Wait, it made perfect sense why they wanted to eat her alive. Erin was basically rolling on the ground now in an effort to try and squish any bugs on her that she had not yet spotted or felt bite her flesh.

[Cassie Stryker]

"Bug problems?" The tall girl looked down at the person helplessly swatting the bugs. She'd been told she had to go to this barbeque thing but in truth she just wanted to run around. So that's exactly what she'd been doing. And then she'd come across this poor soul who quite obviously wasn't used to the bugs. In order to try to lighten the mood, she thought she'd make a joke.

"Gee, you're having so much trouble with a few bugs anyone would think you spent all your time on a computer and didn't get out much." She laughed.

"Need any help?"

[Erin Hackett]

Bug problems? Erin heard the question and could not stop her mind from the sarcastic thought that crossed her mind and dared to slip out. Oh noooo, I’m so cool with the bugs right now. Not dealing with them biting me and trying to take all my blood. Not at all. Erin thought to herself and almost mumbled out until she looked at the person that had said those words. It was a female. Nope, she was not going to be saying any of that unless the girl pissed her off, which she figured would have been really hard since no girl thus far had actually made her upset. Damn boys.

Erin was about to speak up but then the other girl was saying something, a joke? Erin was not certain which was why she kind of just started at the girl. Admittedly part of why she was staring was because she was checking her out and another because she was confused by the comment. It was not a lie and she figured by the fact that even now she had her laptop bag slung over the side of her shoulder, and clearly looking like she could use a bit more sun would have given such things away. “I don’t.” Erin mumbled as she swatted at another bug.

Then there was the offer for help. Thank all the powers that be. “Yes, you have any bug spray? Preferably Off.” Erin asked, naming the brand that she typically used. She could not just use any kind since she did have slightly sensitive skin. She blamed her red head genes, but she didn’t do a test to confirm that was actually the cause of the slightly sensitive skin.

[Cassie Stryker]

...She didn't get out much.

"Well that was supposed to be a joke. So much for that I guess." She was being stared at too which felt kind of odd. But then again, she had said something stupid so she guessed it was only natural for someone to be staring. When the woman mentioned Off, she smirked.

"Yeah that might be your problem right there if you're using regular Off. Some of Off's products are perfumed to make them more appealing to buyers. Unfortunately that also means they appeal to the bugs and work like crap. I do have a can of Deep Woods Off though. Stuff works like a charm. Unless you're one of those uptight environmentalists, but I'm guessing from your hate of the bugs and staying inside with a computer you're probably not." She took her small backpack off and put it on the ground, crouching and looking through.

"Nope not the snack for later...or the first aid kit...oh wait." She took something out of the first aid kit.

"I have a tube of afterbite you might be interested in. Takes the itch right out of the bites." She kept looking.

"Ah here's the Deep Woods." She withdrew the tall can and extended it to the other girl.

"I'm Cassidy by the way."

[Erin Hackett]

The other girl had clarified that what she had said had indeed meant to be a joke, even if Erin was still slightly missing it. Should she have laughed now? No, that would have been odd to just start laughing as if you just got it but didn't really. Plus Erin had not found it all that funny and while she didn't want to hurt the other girl's feelings she didn't want to just fake laugh, that would have made it obvious. So she just remained silent and just gave a nervous smile as her form of response as she swatted away another bug. Darn blood suckers, worse than vampires. Erin thought to herself.

The other girl then started to explain that her problem was that she was using the normal OFF, which didn't always work very well. The reason why seemed to make sense but Erin never really had a problem with it; she was still going to keep that in mind the next time she went out to get some bug spray. Her problem right now was that she didn't have any and her ginger blood was calling in all the bugs it seemed. "Y-yah, not too worried about the environment within certain parameters." Erin responded. Like she didn't want everyone to just chop all the trees down and treat the environment like crap.

They did kind of need the Earth to survive for the moment, but she was not going to lose it just because someone was using say normal oil verses corn oil or whatever. Erin remained where she was as she watched the other girl go through the bag, checking her out again, and also being as patience as she could while fighting off what felt like an army bugs. "Oh, thank you." Erin said, not hesitating to take the AfterBite, because she would so need that. She didn't use it yet; first she needed to get rid of the bugs; which was what she did as soon as the can was handed over to her.

She didn't hesitate to spray herself down and a general bubble around her to really make sure the bugs got the message. Once that was taken care of, she went to work trying to put some AfterBite on herself. "Nice to meet you Cassidy, you are a life saver." Erin said, all too pleased to feel free of the bug. "I'm Hackett, Erin Hackett." Erin added, and would have offered a hand to shake but AfterBite in one hand and the medicine inside on her fingers at the moment.

[Cassie Stryker]

"Eh thanks for the sentiment but it's just bugspray. I'm no lifesaver." Life ruiner was more accurate, but she wasn't about to pile that on a total stranger. Then the other girl introduced herself and Cassie thought the name sounded familiar. A second later it connected.

"Oh wow you're the computer girl at Bellefonte. The one who's pretty much a genius. Well...I'll steer clear of all your machines. Life-saver or not, you'd flip if I broke one. And I probably would." She laughed. Then she realized the descriptors might not be totally flattering and she reddened slightly.

"Sorry. I didn't mean it to sound bad. I...I'm just impressed because I'm so...inept with them."

[Erin Hackett]

“You are when I was being eaten alive.” Erin mumbled out when the other girl insist that she was not a life saver. It was true the other girl did not save her life; not like Quinn did, but she still had helped Erin out in her time of need. That alone was enough to make Erin feel like she at least owed the girl something in order to pay her back. Now she just needed to figure out what that something was in order to pay the girl back. She gave her name to the other girl and was actually shocked that the other girl was saying those things about her. She could not have been talking about Erin, no way.

Even if that was all true, it was not like Erin was actually popular enough or even known by the masses to have a reputation about her. She had made sure of that and now was worried about how this girl knew all of this information. Did she know any of Erin’s friends and perhaps said friends had been bragging about her? Erin had so many questions but at the moment she was busy blushing and starting to fumble with her jacket as her mouth opened and closed to find words to say. “T-thanks but…I think you uh…maybe you have me confused with uh…someone else?” Erin asked as she looked down at the ground.

It was not like she invented things or anything along those lines. Sure she built computer but that was pretty standard and easy to do. That and while if someone broke her things, she would be upset, but she didn’t think she actually flip out on a female if they did it by accident. However since it had never happened she could not confirm or deny that fact yet. The other girl was then apologizing which had Erin shaking her head as she took a step back to try and gain some more courage. “I-it’s okay.” Erin managed to get out and then silence would follow.

[Cassie Stryker]

"Alright I will gracefully or not so gracefully accept your gratitude." She did a flourishing bow with an arm sweeping motion and then grinned at the other girl.

"Naw I like your modesty but I heard about you from someone who was particularly frustrated with my skills with a computer. They told me to type a word document and somehow...it ended up crashing. I have problems." She shrugged, putting her palms facing up with a sheepish smile.

"...are you stuttering because you stutter or because you're nervous. I'm never sure and even though I probably shouldn't even mention it, I don't like to just ignore things and assume. To assume makes an ass out of u and me after all." She chuckled at the old, semi-lame joke.

[Erin Hackett]

Erin just nodded her head several times when the other girl said that she was just going to accept her gratitude; wither it be graceful or not. Erin was not too sure about that, but she still smiled as the girl did a flourishing bow. It was not the kind of bow Erin was used to receiving, but it was interesting all the same. Then the other girl confirmed where she had heard about her from and just how bad she was with computers. Erin could not help but to laugh right away as soon as she heard about the girl typing in word and crashing it.

That had to be a joke, no way she was serious. "That was a good one, but I'm sure you are not that bad." Erin admitted, still chuckling a little. She just figured the other girl was exaggerating her lack of computer skills. It was still funny to Erin and it was a good laugh, even if she didn't really like laughing around other people; or being around other people in general. "I uh...I could help you out with computers, if you ever need or want it." Erin added then after a moment.

She was good with them and had been asked before by the staff to help people out. So if someone just asked her or she knew they were bad; and she was brave enough to offer her services, she would. Then came a question that had Erin blushing and looking away from a moment. She was not used to being asked such a thing, but she could assume why. She was stutter a lot, but she didn't think it was that bad that someone would point it out. "N-nervous." Erin managed to get out, still looking away as she started to play with the zipper on her jacket.

[Cassie Stryker]

The girl laughed at the word document thing but Cassie wasn't laughing.

"Umm...that actually wasn't a joke. Apparently I hit a few wrong keys or something, but yeah the computer crashed. And...I'm basically a disaster warning. I don't really need much technology anyways. My ipod doesn't act up too much. I just get someone to load it for me and I'm good." She shrugged, smiling. And then the girl mentioned that it was nervousness.

"You don't need to be. I don't bite. Much." She chuckled.

"But seriously, relax. Not everyone's judging you all the time. Besides which, you shouldn't even be nervous about that because you seem like a cool person. That is, if we trust my instincts about people."