Uh..I-I-I-I...

[Lister D. Reynolds]

Deep breaths. Deep breaths. LDR sat down on the edge of the lake quietly hyperventilating. You see, he was meant to be meeting the person he'd been assigned to work with for portraits in photography club. And there person he'd been assigned to work with was someone called 'Blair'. Now that opens up to possibilities: One, it's a guy, Two, it's a girl which seems a more likely outcome. So he's kinda having a small meltdown.

He did try and calm down but the uncertainity of what he was going to have to deal with freaked him out too much. Why can't I just do the projects by myself? Maybe I should leave the club if they keep doing stuff like this. He gripped his knees up to his chin. Maybe I should leave now before they get here. But before he could get up a Blair Collins coughed behind him. Shit, how long had she been there.

[Blair Collins]

Blair could not help but enjoy the serenity around her. She had just joined the Photography Club and was assigned to work with someone. At first she freaked out--she had not even showed up for a meeting yet and they were already giving her a partner? Freakin' great. She did not work well in groups, much less with people she did not know.

Still, this was an excuse to go outside. One could not say she was isolating herself--she had a project!

Kallispell was a beautiful place and there were less people this morning by the lake. She made sure to wear something comfortable--jeans, sneakers and a sweater. It was not a cold day but hey, her receptors were a bitch that way.

She took her time getting to what's-his-name, enjoying the peace and quiet... Then she heard staggering breaths. What now?


That's when she saw him--a boy with neat brown hair sitting by the edge of the lake. He had a lint on his shoulder, his heart was racing, and he smelled of something she could not identify. She needed to work on that.

Blair coughed for his attention. "Lister?" She stuffed her hands into her blue sweater pockets, shivering. "I'm Blair--your partner for the photography assignment. Sorry I'm late."

Her camera dangled from her neck as she held out a hand.

[Lister D. Reynolds]

Yeah, the partner he was given was a girl. His breathing grew a bit faster and he stared at the girl for a brief moment before clambering up. Rubbing the back of his head he gave a small wave "Uh...y-y-you can ca-call me LDR i-i-if you wa-want...d-d-don't worry about be-be-being la-late..." He hoped she would realise he wasn't going to shake her hand. His eyes flickered down to the his feet. She looked kinda cool.

The urge to run away grew stronger as a silence fell over. He shifted his bag and rummaged out his camera "S-S-So...d-d-do y-you wa-want to st-st-start th-this or..." He caught her eyes for a second and his face flushed. How long was this meant to last? Couldn't he just go back to his room? He wasn't feeling warm but his chest felt tighter with every breath. Just take slow breaths.

[Blair Collins]

She dropped her ignored hand. Man, Blair thought she had problems socializing. Lister worried her--he looked like he was going to have a panic attack any moment now.

In truth, she was slightly uncomfortable. She was not going to be a witness to a tragic death or something, was she? But at the same time, her nerves loosened. In comparism to this awkward creature, Blair felt something she had not felt in a long time--normal.

She even managed a small smile. "You don't have to be nervous. I don't bite."

Lister continued searching for his camera. So Blair walked along the lake. She could hear the robin in the tree across the water, feeding its children. There was a frog swimming under the water's surface. Ah, and the smell of fall was embraced by her senses--pleasant and calming.

She thought of what little she knew of her assignment partner--bits and pieces of information her sensitive hearing forced her to overhear. Commonly referred to as LDR, he was a speedster. He joined various clubs and sports including the ones Blair joined as well. Other than that, she knew little else.

Blair turned and snapped a picture of her partner.  "Gotcha." She lowered the camera to look at her handiwork.

"I've always liked photos--sometimes I prefer to them over people. Everything, captured in a moment, to last longer than it should." She lifted her head. "What about you, Lister? What got you into photography?"

[Lister D. Reynolds]

And yet again someone telling him he didn't need to be nervous. Why I had never thought of it that way. I don't have to be nervous, you sure? I mean this must be some new revolutionary thinking. He knew he didn't have to be nervous, he just had no control over it. And he couldn't be sure if someone bit or not, not at this school anyway.

After a few more moments rummaging he produced the camera but not before the girl gave him a scare with her sudden words. At least he didn't have to worry about his photo being taken now. His face turned a flushed colour as he looked back down.

LDR flicked his eyes backed up and gave a small shrug "A-A-A pi-pi-picture ca-can say a th-thousand w-words...s-so I do-don't ha-have to sa-say any..." An experimental look through the camera confirmed its lens was spotless. Now he just had to find a moment to grab a shot of Blair, the pier might be nice.

A normal person would have used this time to get to know Blair better, but LDR was far from normal so he kept his eyes down and rolled up the sleeves of his hoodie. He was going to make an effort though. He was going to try his best not not be weird "S-S-So wh-where ar-are y-you fr-from?"

[Blair Collins]

So he had problem with words, eh? Well she never would have guessed. She wondered what made him so nervous. Or maybe he wasn't at all. Having super-speed, his normal heartbeat was probably faster than the average person. Perhaps.

"Austrailia--can you tell?" Blair answered finally. "My parents wanted me to transfer--Sir Henry Barnet was a little too laid back for them."


She continued walking and gestured for Lister to follow. "I heard you were on the track team--isn't that, like, cheating? Or do the others have super-speed too?"

Shit. That just came out of nowhere. She hoped Lister did not think she was a creepy stalker or something. It was just that she could not help picking up pieces of conversation now and then.

"I was thinking about signing when I noticed you were on the list of members so I wondered if it was exclusive to speedsters like you."

A lie. She did consider joining track. She did hear someone talk about LDR. But she knew the team was not exclusive. Still, it was a subject for conversation.

[Lister D. Reynolds]

Well, that explained the accent. He stumbled after her, heart pounding. Why did it have to be a girl? She seemed to happy to talk so LDR just nodded until she mentioned he had super-speed. His body tensed up. Had she seen him about the school? At least she made it seem like a joke.

He gave her a raised eyebrow "Y-Y-You co-could say it's ch-cheating. I o-only thi-think a c-couple others...no-not sur-sure I ju-just run..." He rubbed the back of his head and went back to walking. He could see she was just trying to make conversation but LDR wasn't sure of what to say, or what not to say.

"D-D-Did you si-sign up fo-for an-anything, then?" His eyes flicked across the lake and his chest felt tighter, heavier. Why was it so hard to have a normal conversation with someone?

[Blair Collins]

"Uhm..." Blair raised her camera as an answer. "I also joined Art Club and soccer--both of which I know you're in." She kicked a pile of dried leaves. "For an unsocial guy, you do get around a lot."

She could hear the leaves crack as they walked over them--like crunching cookies.

Blair was not used to talking this much recently. But what else could she do? Lister was obviously dreading chit chat but she did not want him uncomfortable with her silence.

She remembered having a similar friend. He could barely get a full sentence out when they first met but only because he had a slight stutter. People made fun of him for it and it made it worse. He moved away after a year in middle school.

She promised herself then that she would never make anyone nervous enough to drive them away. She shivered. Releasing her camera, she stuffed her hands in her pockets again.

"You know, I thought you'd be less nervous away from big crowds. I enjoy a little isolation--peaceful. Or is it because we're alone? I'm not going to murder you, if that's what you're worried about."

[Lister D. Reynolds]

"K-K-Keeps me bu-busy..." He gave her a small shrug "So-So I'll see y-y-you at pra-practise then?" She didn't seem too bad, heck LDR might even learn to like her. For now though he'd try not to scare her away. He glanced up noticing her shiver.

LDR let loose a laugh. It felt weird but he couldn't help himself for once. Maybe it was the time he was spending with actual people? His face flushed again "Y-Y-You can tr-try I he-heal pre-pretty fa-fast..pl-plus where wo-would you hide y-your axe?" He brought his camera up and took a quick shot of Blair, capturing her expression.

Okay, this wasn't so bad. She's a bit weird too. Maybe not can't function in normal society weird but weird non the less. Was he smiling? His chest loosened slightly, his breathing slowing.

[Blair Collins]

Blair heard the camera shutter go off--not hers, Lister's. Her grey eyes widened. "Did you just--"

The boy's heart rate had slowed down. The corners of her lips turned up. She cheered internally at loosening him up at last but tried to keep a straight face. "Payback, I suppose? Let me see that."

She stepped towards him to see the photo. She was caught mid-shiver, shoulders hunched and hands in pockets. Candid like the one she took of him. Sneaky dork.

"Oh, you're so going to get it." Blair shoved his shoulder playfully. She lifted her camera and snapped an up close photo of the boy.

[Lister D. Reynolds]

The photo wasn't too bad and now she was smiling. Maybe LDR could be normal. He tensed up as she stepped closer, too close. His smile faded "Su-Sure." He held the camera further away so there was no chance of her accidentally touching him. Maybe being normal was too much of a long shot. His chest got tighter as she punched his shoulder. Yeah, touching was still a no no.

Then the camera flash, his face turned a brighter shade of red. Shoving his hands inside his pocket he looked down at the water lapping on the edge of the water.

Okay, just smile. LDR looked back up and gave a shy smile "J-J-J-Just you wa-wait." He glanced around, mentally mark some good places where they could get some interesting shots. Shooting a glance at the girl's camera his face fell. Oh god, he looked like such a dork. That stupid expression on his face.

[Blair Collins]

Oh, shit. His heart rate sped up again. Damn. She noticed the change in his expression and behaviour--he was clamming up.

Blair's own smile dropped as well. "Hey, don't worry about it. You look cute. Don't you trust my photography skills?"

Still, the boy would not meet her eyes. She did not know whether it was intentional or not but Lister only looked around them. She could practically hear him organizing his actions before carrying them out.

Blair herself did things in the spur of the moment. Sometimes she did not see the line until she crossed it. Was that punch the line for Lister? Damn. Of all the senses she had, sensing someone's feelings never heightened.

She had to try to lighten the mood again.

"And by the way, that's my pose." She smiled  pologetically and inserted her own hands into her sweater pockets. "Come on, you can take as many embarrassing pictures of me as you want. Not that yours was embarrassing," she quickly added. "Like I said, you're cute."

[Lister D. Reynolds]

His breathing got faster when he noticed she had stopped smiling. Yeah, he had to make an effort to appear to be normal. He tried looking her in the eyes but had to look away. His hands fumbled out of his pockets.

Taking a deep breath LDR started to move forward before spinning around and taking another snap of her in her pose "You be-be-better ke-keep up." He flashed her a smile before giving a light jog towards the small pier. It wasn't fast enough that she couldn't keep up but fast enough that he had a head start. This is what kids their age do, right? Mess around?

He stopped on the pier and waited for her to catch up, tapping his foot nervously. This was okay, right?

[Blair Collins]

That smile--Blair was glad to see it. It was contagious. She could not stop herself from beaming as well. He jogged to the pier.

Keep up? She laughed. She quickly lifted her camera and snapped a photo of him mid-run.nkfully her shutter speed was suitable because the picture was not blurred.

"Slow down there, Barry Allen!"

She raced up to him, her footsteps echoing on the wooden boards. Her own heart beat faster but Lister seemed to have no problem keeping his breathing steady--well, steady for him.

He was tapping his foot and she could feel the vibrations on her own feet. Lister had the morning sun as his background. Quite majestic as it created a sort of halo around his figure. Blair immediately took a picture of this.

He was cute. The girl let out a short whistle.  "Now that's a view," she blurted out. She felt her cheeks warm. Oops. She cleared her throat. "Pretty nice out here. Do you come here often?"

[Lister D. Reynolds]

Yeah, this felt okay. Not weird or anything. His breathing felt a bit looser when he noticed her smile. It was almost calming. The sun glared against his glasses so he turned his back to it and gave Blair a shrug. Was she blushing? Wasn't that his forte? Wait, why was she blushing? His own face flushed "Y-Y-Y-Yeah, s-s-s-sometimes...n-n-not a l-l-lot of pe-people."

He walked a couple of more steps until, putting a distance between the two. She seemed embarrassed. Was it something he'd done? He recalled some girls acting like this around him but he'd never figured out why. Probably down to his stutter or something. The sun glared up from the water around them, making the girl's hair shine like silver.