A muse's coincidence

[Serena Rivers]

One thing Serena didn't like but also liked at the same time about winter is that she didn't tend to wear her summer dresses, it was almost exclusively jeans and shirts with hoodies or coats. While she could dress up quite nicely, and pulled off elegance very nicely, there was something much more comfortable about being in skinny jeans, a T-Shirt referencing her favorite series of books, and a light blue zip up hoodie.

She had deep, blood red hairpins in either side of her shoulder length blonde hair and was wearing a gentle smile. She'd just finished relatively early morning seminar. Genetics was interesting, but for a girl with borderline insomnia, it was NOT easy to concentrate. She yawned as she left the classroom, cradling 3 separate text books in one arm, trying to shake herself back awake, fully intending on getting a cup of tea to wake up, before going over notes.

The writer hadn't really been playing enough attention to her surroundings evidently though, as she was trying to keep her eyes open through blinking she walked right into another soft person. She tried to catch her balance but inevitably ended up on the floor, dropping all three of her books. Smooth.

Her sky blue eyes glanced up at the other female swiftly. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention." Her gentle British accent stammered.

[Casey Pryor]

{CLICKEY FOR PRETTIES}

A girl with long brown hair hanging loosely down her back, black jeans and a long sleeved shirt walked slowly down the hall. She was sleepy. It was too early to be up. It didn't help that between her schooling, part time job and recent mandatory self defense training sessions Casey's reserves of energy weren't doing to well. She switched the book and notebook in her arm to the other with a sigh. Math. Casey wasn't horrible at it, but she didn't like it too much. Of course, going into business you kind of had to know math and in just a couple of days she had a test. In order to avoid distractions she'd come to the campus early. She was gonna grab herself a caramel mocha iced coffee and find a quiet corner to do just that.

Suddenly she bumped into something hard, but soft at the same time, and she found herself dropping her stuff as she stumbled back. Somehow she seemed to catch her balance in time and didn't actually fall. She couldn't help glaring down at the girl. But the glare quickly slid away as her anger did. She never could stay angry. And the girls quick apology had Casey shaking her head, "no, no, I'm sorry. I totally was lost in my own head. I shouldn't have braved campus this early. Not enough sleep last night," she said with a smile as she reached her hand down to help the other girl up.

[Serena Rivers]

Serena returned the smile, somewhat awkwardly, she had applied makeup before going out to disguise the rings under her eyes, so hopefully she didn't look too exhausted, she gingerly reached up to grasp the other girl's hand, her grip would feel a little shaky, but not nervous.

She'd been worried that the other girl would be mad with her for bumping into her, it kinda was Serena's fault, and she wasn't the type of girl to try and blame the other one. Actually, upon studying the other girl, Serena thought she was really quite pretty. She particularly liked the brunette's hair and skin. Where Serena's own skin was what she considered to be unattractive, though it wasn't entirely her fault that she was so pale, it probably just didn't help she didn't get outside enough.

Her cheeks actually became hotly coloured pink. "I'm terribly sorry, again." It'd been a while since she'd done something quite this clumsy, and she was feeling rather embarrassed as a result of it.

[Casey Pryor]

Casey shook her head quickly as the girl apologized again. "Think nothing of it. No harm done to either of us," she said, the smile still in place. She knelt down to pick up her books, and to help the girl pick up hers. She had a few more then Casey did, and she glanced at the subject matter. Genetics. 'Eek, scary,' she thought. She stood up once both girls had their books in their arms.

Now that she was standing and not distracted with apologies and gathering materials she took a minute to take in the girl in front of her completely. She was dressed simply, much like Casey herself, which she liked. Dressing up was okay occasionally but most of the time she just liked quick, simple things. Casey's eyes finally stopped on the girls blue ones. She looked really cute when she was blushing. 

"My names Casey. I was on my way to get some coffee; would you like to join me? Unless you're on your way to class..." she asked.

[Serena Rivers]

The blonde's flustering slowed down to a halt when she met the brunette's eyes. You could call her a cliche, you could call her a romantic, all that mattered was that she was a writer, who loved body language, and the eyes were one of the most interesting things as far as she was concerned. She always found herself fascinated with them. 'Windows to the soul' might have been a Romanticism, but it was interesting.

She broke the eye contact after a moment, still blushing softly, focusing down on her books. Thee blonde gently scooped up the books, keeping her gaze low to hide her cheeks. She smiled to herself. It'd been a while since she'd been in any kind of a situation similar to this one. The girl cleared her throat in an attempt to clear her thoughts.

She stood back up, smiling, considerably less flustered. "It's a pleasure to meet you Casey, and that's a lovely name." To people who spent all their days with words, names were something nice. Casey was a little bit different than typical american names, so she liked it. "I'm Serena, and I'd love to. Also no, done with classes for now. And I'd love a coffee, thank you." She smiled and slipped the books back under her arm.

[Casey Pryor]

Casey's smile brightened when her name was complimented. She didn't hear things like that often. Plus she thought her name was just average. "Thanks, I like yours better though. It makes me think of Selena, the Moon Goddess in mythology, because of how similar they are, though you're name is much prettier," Casey cleared her throat and bit her lip. 'Oh my gosh, am I trying to flirt?!' Mentally she was starting to get very nervous. She wasn't good at this kind of thing. 'Chill, Case, you just met the girl.' she scolded herself.

"Yay coffee then. I was surprised at how well the little shop here on campus makes their coffees," she said as the two of them walked towards the small little shop in the corner of the building, stopping to set her books down at a table close to the counter. Soon she stood in front of a short co-ed, ready to order. "I'll have an iced caramel mocha, an extra shot of each flavor please." She turned to Serena, "What would you like? I'll buy," she said happily.

[Serena Rivers]

Serena smiled gently as the girl seemed to take the compliment pretty favorably. The response wasn't quite what Serena had been expecting though, she felt her cheeks colour again. Was the girl flirting with her? It'd been a while. Not that Serena wasn't one for flirting, it had just been a long time since someone had actually flirted with her. She decided this was not an altogether unappreciated thing.

Serena smiled gently at the comment about the little shop. Oh yes, she was very familiar with it. "True, though I've spent quite a lot of time in the past with my own coffee brews and of course, I wouldn't be much of a stereotype if I didn't drink copious amounts of tea." She added with a sly grin. It was nearly impossible not to pick up on her British origins, she sounded like a freaking stereotype.

She set her books down gently on the same table and covered her mouth to stop a large yawn escaping. She didn't want the other girl to think she found her boring or anything, she just hadn't slept for a couple of nights. The blonde really didn't need anybody else paying for her drinks, but she didn't really want to be rude at all either, so she'd accept Casey's offer of a drink. "Thank you." She turned to the cashier, who greeted her. (Always a bad sign when the person selling you your caffeine was on a first name basis with you) "I'll have a flat white with a shot of cinnamon please." She requested.

[Casey Pryor]

Casey raised an eyebrow just a bit at the comment about teas. The accent alone had pretty much given Casey the thought that Serena was British and the comment about tea just went right along with that assumption. Now that the flustered, somewhat embarrassing bumping into each other, Casey could appreciate Serena's accent so much more and while she wouldn't admit it out loud, she absolutely LOVED accents like Serena's. She didn't know why exactly, it just made her heart beat just a tad bit faster for a moment.  "Honestly, I don't think I've ever really drank tea. Unless the Arizona Green Tea with ginseng counts," she said ruefully.

Casey paid the cashier after both orders were placed and leaned against the counter as she waited while the drinks were made. She looked at the books on the table, glancing at the titles, the one to do with genetics jumped out at her first, "So are you a super smart scientist girl?" Casey asked, nodding towards her books. "The world could definitely use some smart, nerdy pretty girls. Shake up the stereo-type of what people think ALL smart nerdy girls look like." She said with a smile.

[Serena Rivers]

The blonde subconciously adjusted her hair while she chatted with the other girl, it was a reflex she'd devolped, when she was a little embarassed or flustered she tended to do it more often, most people didn't pick up on it, unless they knew her decently well of course. Close friends like James or Erika would probably pick it out when they saw her near Casey almost immediately.

She gave off a gentle chuckle. "Well, I don't have a huge amount of experiance with that one, though I do have quite a few too many different blends of tea in my cupboard." She admitted with a soft tone.

Serena giggled gently at the question grinning. "Well, I don't know about the 'super' part, but yes, I am quite sciency, I'm also quite geeky in my own way." She admitted with a gentle blush. The haemokinetic let out another soft giggle as the girl continued to compliment her. "Well, that's lovely of you to say. I'm not just sciency though, I also study a lot of literature, but Genetics is my main focus." She paused for a second before turning her head gently towards the other girl. "what about yourself, what do you study?"

[Casey Pryor]

"So would you describe yourself as a tea snob?" Casey asked playfully and teasing when the girl said she had multiple flavors in her cupboards. Casey had heard of them, though never met a real true tea snob herself, not that it would be a bad thing one way or the other from her point of view. "What's your favorite flavor?"

The cashier came back with their drinks just after Serena asked Casey what she studied. She felt mildly annoyed at the interruption of their conversation, even if it was the much needed delicious caffeine Casey's body craved. She took her drink with a nod and a thank you to the cashier and moved to the table to sit. Once she and Serena were settled she took a sip of the coffee and closed her eyes as the liquid slipped down her throat. "Mmmm," she settled the coffee in front of her. "I get these pretty frequently but every time, that first sip feels like it's the first time ever."

Casey took one more sip then answered Serena's previous question. "It's probably going to sound boring compared to yours but I'm studying business and communications. I don't even know what I really want to do with it," she said with a small frown. "I work at an old bookstore right now, part time, but I love it...maybe I can start up my own book store of sorts." She shrugged as she took another sip of her coffee.

[Serena Rivers]

The blonde snorted. "That's one I've never heard before." She paused. "I suppose that would depend on who you asked, personally I'd refer to myself as a tea addict." She replied with a small grin. "Hmmmmm. It would depend on my mood really, I like classic English breakfast tea, or a lot of herbal teas, like chamomile is always good and calming if I'm doing some writing."

Serena smiled as she grabbed her drink, she enjoyed the warmth that the take away cup transferred to her fingers when she grasped it. That was another thing that was quite nice about going to coffee shops in the winter, it tended to help with her warmth in her experience. As Casey savoured her first drink of the hot beverage Serena giggled at her reaction, it was really quite cute. "Well, you've clearly got some good taste buds then." She mused softly.

She chuckled again. "No no, not at all. I don't think any subject is particularly boring... Except maybe maths." She paused. "I had a lot of trouble when I was going into college choosing my direction, there are a lot of interesting ways that people can go with study." She smiled softly at the other girl, taking a gentle sip from her drink, enjoying the sweet cinnamon flavour filling her body with warmth.

She giggled again. "I think that sounds fantastic. I absolutely love book stores, and libraries. One of my best friends recently informed me that my lounge looks like a small library, I own wayyy too many books." She admitted.

[Casey Pryor]

"I've only ever come across tea snobs in forums. Their the ones who grow their own herbs to make their own "real" tea," she commented, adding real in quotation marks. "Then again, they could just be all talk. Maybe sometime you can have me over to try some different flavors of tea," she said hopefully. She'd definitely like to see Serena after this. As Serena kept talking Casey found herself leaning in a bit as she listened to Serena talk. Her small laughs and giggles were quite enchanting.

"Math is definitely boring. I put off math for a bit and am finally taking business calculus this semester and then I only have to take business statistics after this. There's a student in my class that just eats the stuff up. I don't get it at all." Casey said with a small roll of her eyes, followed by another drink. " And I know what you mean about different ways of studies. When I was first starting college I wasn't sure what I wanted to do or where I wanted to go with it. Thank god there's academic counselors," she said with a laugh. "As for your own small library, I'm completely jealous! Most of my books are stashed at my mom's house." Casey said. 

She folded her arms on the table, still leaning forward, a goofy smile on her face (that she was unaware of) as she finished talking, her eyes locked on the other girls, as her thoughts ran away. 'Damn she's so pretty, and smart and I love her voice and those eyes...' Casey mentally shook herself and bit the inside of her lip. 'Get a grip,' she reminded herself again. She'd met a lot of people and had made many friends since she started college. She'd only ever had a few crushes but she didn't remember ever starting to crush this fast. Besides who knew if Serena was even into girls in the first place. Also, becoming friends first might be good. "So you said you like to write? What kind of stuff?" She asked, purposely pulling herself out of her thoughts, for the better she hoped.

[Serena Rivers]

The blonde arched an eyebrow at the comment about the tea snobs. "Really? I've never met anybody like that." She paused for a second, smiling to herself. "Though maybe that suggests I'm one of them? I'm not quite sure. I certainly don't grow my own tea." She added with a soft smile.

Serena grinned. "I'd love to have you over, if you're up for seeing my mess of an apartment." To most people, that would be a lie, her apartment was usually obsessively organised and clean. There were just a few clothes strewn about currently. She used to be much better in general with it, but then she didn't used to live on her own, and she also used to see her friends, and have them over fairly frequently.

She nodded and chuckled. "Yup. Agreement there. I'm definitely more at home when I'm in literature, but I've pretty much got most of the nuances of Literature down, where as genetics is.... a whole other matter entirely." She said, understating the matter quite heavily. The amount that they still didn't know about genetics could fill whole libraries, and that's without even factoring mutants into the matter.

Yup. The other girl was definitely on the flirty side of things. Serena liked this. She liked this very much. The blonde gave the other girl her most enchanting smile and responded with a more awkward demeanor. "Well. It's... mostly just a hobby, it's not such a big deal." She lied.

The girl tried to change the subject. "What about you, Casey? What do you like to do with your free time when you're not here or in the bookshop?" There was a fairly decent chance that Serena had been in said bookshop before, she tended to frequent them quite often to look for new books to get herself lost in. There was a definite high possibility that Serena's own writing was in the shop too... Though it wouldn't be traceable to her.

[Casey Pryor]

Casey shook her head quickly at Serena's musing of her maybe being a tea snob, "No, no. You're too sweet. Snobs in general are stuck up asses."  Casey quickly shut her mouth after that and gave Serena a nervous smile at her small outburst but then smiled genuinely at her invitation to visit. "Well I can't wait then," she replied happily and then continued, "and I'm sure it's not that bad." Casey grimaced slightly, "honestly I'm a little bit behind on cleaning. I live in the dorms currently and I haven't given my room the attention it needs." 

Casey tried to think on what she knew of genetics, and the answer quickly came to pretty much nothing. So she hoped that the writing thing would pan out for a conversation but Serena seemed not so much interested in that. 'Maybe I'll pick her brain about genetics after all. No, she said she wrote, she was just being bashful possibly. Maybe she isn't confident in her writing. I'll go back to that later,' Casey thought. 

"Oh, what do I do?" Casey echoed. She wouldn't admit it but she was a bit self conscious in answering this question. Mainly because she didn't want to portray herself in a bad light. How did you tell someone that you didn't really know but WANTED to really well that you were basically a party girl, especially on and around full moons, when said girl seemed so sophisticated and smart?She took a breath and then said, a little bit quickly and nervously, "Depending on the time of the month I'm either holed up resting and reading a book or out dancing and partying." 

[Serena Rivers]

Serena giggled gently a the compliment, she'd been mostly joking, but the girl's response had definitely been worth it. Serena's smile widened further at how the girl responded in terms of body language to her comment. The thought did strike Serena's mind that somebody could look at the invitation she just gave as an offer of a date... Oh dear. She hadn't quite meant it like that.

It wasn't like Serena was a person particularly lacking in confidence, but she had this nagging feeling that some people might see her differently if they knew about her book. Especially if they knew she had two more on the way to follow it. Though, in fairness most of the people she had told about it hadn't really done that. But then again, most of said people were also some of her close friends.

Serena nodded with an encouraging smile to Casey. She took another savouring sip of her caffeinated beverage as she listened to Casey speak. Serena took a stab in the dark as to the source of Casey's nervousness when she spoke. She was quite familiar with it, she'd suffered with severe anxiety when she was younger surrounding her power, fearing that people would see her as some kind of demon, or vampire. "I can understand that. Is that just a personality thing, or power relate-"

She paused, giving an apologetic smile. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that."