[FF] Firing

[Riley Coleson]

His expression went blank as his eyes moved from her face, to his hand, and back to her face again. "Right." Not that it was what he'd been aiming for; he'd offered her his hand to help her up, but he figured he'd let that one slip. Mostly because she had caught him so off guard by pointing it out. Lowering his hand, the blank expression quickly changed into something warmer, and more upbeat. Not that Elsa offered him a whole lot of time to regain himself, as she had already turned to walk away.

Shrugging, Riley started following her, making sure all the fireworks had been picked up along the way, as well as making sure he didn't lose any of the ones he was holding. "So, wait," he threw at her, smirking now. "Does that mean you don't mind my cheesy moves?" He couldn't help but smile at that. He'd figured that any kind of moves would get shot down by her, because she was probably one of the few that wasn't even remotely interested in him, right?

"I mean, not that I'd mind you liking them or anything, because come on." He laughed. "But I'd figured I'd get your knee in my balls or something. You don't exactly take well to being flirted with." He'd know, after their first time meeting and all.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa rolled her eyes at Riley's question. It certainly wasn't one that she felt deserved an answer, and she was perfectly willing to simply let it lie. However, Riley appeared to have other ideas in mind. He kept going, even laughing. She gave him those narrowed eyes.

"I do not go about castrating people just because they flirt with me," she insisted, sounding more than a little arch as she did so. "There's just a time and a place for it all and you're horrible at figuring that much out. Besides," She looked forward, "I'm interested in spending time with you, not in hearing you tell me how pretty I am."

Because despite people insisting much more often now that Elsa was pretty, she still found she didn't like it. She suspected it had something to do with being an identical twin. She had the same face as Erika, and so she knew by extension she almost had to be pretty. So it felt empty, as though they were just praising the genetics she happened to share with her sister.

Pah, empty thoughts, the lot. Best to just keep moving forward, get rid of this load of fireworks.

[Riley Coleson]

"I beg to differ," Riley chuckled. "I mean, don't thank me wrong. I enjoy your verbal abuse as much as the next person, but sheesh, you make it tough," he added, smiling fondly at her. "But alright. I get your point." If she didn't want to hear it, Riley wasn't going to force it on her. At least, not voice it, anyways. I still think you're pretty though, he thought, shrugging as he tried hiding the playful smirk splaying over his lips.

In fact, Riley wanted to spend time with her too. It was all very confusing, and he knew little would come of it, but he was too far gone to stay away. At least, he thought he had enough self control not to act out on this nagging feeling at the pit of his stomach. He'd rather not put Elsa on the spot like that. It wasn't fair, and she deserved better.

Of course, Riley didn't argue. He wouldn't dare. He had far too much respect for the Bellefonte girl, and honestly, he really did care about her.

Following her, he remained silent as he focused on the task at hand, curiously wondering about why exactly she wanted to spend time with him. From day one, he'd always thought his presence annoyed her, and well, now this? She had made it very clear that his stunt back in the art studio had been so far beneath her it wasn't even funny. Had he read too much into it?

[Elsa Bellefonte]

"oh, my abuse is enjoyable? I'll have to employ it more often then," Elsa replied flippantly, adding another little smirk. She very nearly considered that flirting, and she could see why Riley would think so. However, she'd already made her decision: her feelings would be pushed aside to leave the two of them together. Leave it to a Bellefonte to literally be torn between such beautiful, strong people. Why couldn't someone just come along without attachments? Where was Elsa's dashing chef or charming radio host or, hell, she might as well admit it: rough and sexy street girl or super confident bad boy turned good.

No, she pushed that to the side, focused on completing the task at hand... as she always did. Easy enough to just put one foot in front of the other, lug the fireworks along and get them where they needed to be. Though she could distinctly remember Riley helping her before, when a soda machine had attacked her.

"Is it just me," she said as they ducked back into the setup area, "or do you only show up to be a prince or a knave?" she quirked a brow as she began putting the fireworks back in their appropriate places.

[Riley Coleson]

Laughing, Riley shook his head. "Hey, whatever makes you happy makes me happy," he said, shrugging. Really, in theory, Riley quite enjoyed her sass and attitude. He wondered what had made her that way though, considering how her brother was the nicest kid alive and although her twin clearly had her self-esteem issues, she wasn't nearly as cold as Elsa. Was it something her parents had done? Was it because she for so long, had lived in her twin sister's shadow? He was curious, but he wasn't going to pry. If she wanted him to know, she'd tell him.

He kept following her, keeping his eyes glued to her back as he continued pondering over it. His train of thoughts were broken at her question and the boy chuckled softly. "Guess I'm just that lucky," he winked at her, his smile growing into a grin. "Granted, this time I was the one causing the problem to begin with, which isn't really that surprising... But hey, if helping you out makes me a here, I guess I'll have to do it more often."

Besides, it wasn't like Riley really minded spending time with her, even if that meant having to save her every now and then or pose naked in front of her. Again. Now that had been quite the interesting meeting. She had totally been checking him out too, and she knew it. It caused the boy to smirk as he continued following the brunette. "You totally enjoyed that," he mused under his breath.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa chuckled as Riley insisted that whatever made her happy made him happy. Yeah, she definitely saw the line as just that: a line you said to a girl when you wanted to make her like you a little more. However, Elsa rarely actually heard lines like that, what with her holding everyone at more than arm's length. She wasn't about to let him see or know, instead focusing on getting the fireworks back into their proper positions.

"More like you make your luck," Elsa corrected, after picking up one of the fireworks and pointing it at him. As he pointed out, he'd done this one himself, though he hadn't likely expected Elsa to be the one to come in and rain on his parade. Heck, Elsa herself hadn't quite expected to be doing this until she'd gotten started. Though now, she was definitely seeing a benefit to the more hands on approach.

As she often did, Elsa let her mind out, picking up some of Riley's stray thoughts. It really just sort of happened with people she happened to be close to, and apparently Riley counted among that number. Because soon she was picking up a certain memory, one that again had her pointing fireworks at Riley. "Watch it," she warned him, as he knew full well that she'd be picking it up. She moved to put another back when she heard rustling. Soon, one of the resort staff, the one that was no doubt in charge of the fireworks, poked his head in.

Elsa stared at him, arched a brow, waited a beat, and watched as he slowly exited. She kept her attention on his exit path, waiting.

[Riley Coleson]

Laughing, the blonde shook his head. He didn't let go of the memory though, as she had warned him to. "You know it's true babe," he grinned, still following her. Though, the smug smirk on his face couldn't be mistaken. "Tell me it's a lie and I'll let it go, but you have to actually convince me." And in case she turned around, Riley flexed his arms a little, causing him to almost drop the fireworks he was carrying, which in turn caused him to awkwardly flail his arms around.

...well, that wasn't nearly as hot as he'd hoped it to be. And in the middle of his inner monologue, mostly containing cursing at himself, Riley almost walked straight into Else as she stared at the guy poking his head in. Blinking, he tilted his head to the side and offered the man a smile and a faint shrug, mouthing "run for your life".

Poking his head over Elsa's shoulder, Riley pursed his lips. "Is that how you appear to other people? Intimidating? Man, I must be missing out, because to me you look more like a kitten with claws. All kinds of fluffy and adorable." He rested his chin against her shoulder. "And cute. But that's a given." of course he'd already forgotten that Elsa didn't want him to compliment her looks.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa gave Riley another flat look, watching as he attempted yet again to be charming... and mostly succeeded. It was drastically unfair, especially because she really should hate someone like him. She hadn't appreciated it when Scott did it, and whenever Trevor slid into his suave mode, it irritated her. So why did she feel a slight flutter whenever Riley did it?

Something was clearly wrong with her, that was why. Thankfully there was that beat, the man running away from them for whatever reason.

The next comment had Elsa laughing. "Of course," she said, turning to look at him, eyebrows raised. "Didn't you hear? I dethroned Ellen Banks," she extended her hands, curtsying slightly even as she moved to adjust the fireworks, putting them into the right position and getting them aligned. "It probably helps that I'm the Headmistress now, so everyone knows that I'm capable of doing some quite awful things to them. Oh yes," she said, tapping a finger to her lip, "so that means that I probably couldn't flirt with a student. It would be entirely improper, almost as improper as one calling me cute."

And who did that anyway? Elsa Bellefonte? Cute? Really? She moved to rearranged some more fireworks, trying to act like she wasn't amused and hadn't just essentially flirted back.

[Riley Coleson]

Tilting his head to get a better look at her face, Riley couldn't help but to grin at her words. It was if she was trying so damn hard to make herself seem unavailable and distant, when in theory, she was just another eighteen year old girl. It struck Riley that most people didn't seem to realize that -- or even think about it when they looked at her. It made him a little sad too, because they expected too much of someone who was supposed to be having the time of her life right now.

"Impressive," he replied, smirking. "Though, you don't strike me as a person who would do awful things to others just because you can. That would make you just as bad as Ellen, no?" he pursed his lips. Ellen Banks was famous for her lack of tack and her borderline sociopath behavior. It was no surprise that most people seemed to dislike her. However, he didn't see Elsa being nearly as bad. She was just... Trying to live up to some crazy expectations. Made Riley glad he had very few people depending on him. The boy couldn't help but to smirk at the brunette's words. "Oh, so you are flirting with me?"

He kept his head on her shoulder, batting his eyelashes as he looked up at her. Considering how he was taller than her, he had to crane his neck, but he didn't mind. And man did she smell nice too. He wasn't sure if it was perfume, shampoo, or just the way she smelled. Either way, she smelled nice.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

"That's in the past," Elsa insisted, though she couldn't say for certain if she meant her own harmful, awful things or if she were defending Ellen to some degree. It did feel as though she did the latter far more often than she would have anticipated. Projection, most likely: Ellen was a privileged woman who often abused her powers to get ahead in life...

And yes, Riley did notice the flirting. She felt his head on her shoulder, turned to see his eyelashes fluttering. She raised her eyebrows. "Is that really so surprising? Haven't you been the one insisting all along that I'm not some sort of robotic she-devil intent on controlling everyone around me?"

Elsa gave Riley a slightly smug half-smile before moving away from him, again running her hands along the fireworks. She less organized them and more just jostled them with her fingers. "Well, it looks as though everything's in order here," she said, tapping her fingers atop a rocket before turning back to Riley. "So how are you going to entertain me?" she asked, the half-smile returning, this time as an expression of challenge.

[Riley Coleson]

Shrugging, Riley smiled. "I don't know. You tell me." The fact that she wasn't a robot wasn't surprising. The flirting however, was. He figured he shouldn't read too much into it though. He was better off not doing that. She probably didn't mean things the way they sounded and he wasn't about to pry. That wasn't in his nature. She was a big girl, and she could surely make her own decisions without him holding her hand.

When she moved away though, Riley straightened himself up and followed the brunette with his eyes. "Shouldn't we put these back first?" he asked, gesturing towards the fireworks he was holding. He looked at her with a curious expression. "Wasn't that the point of all of this?" Of course, he'd be more than happy to bring them along, but that hardly seemed like something Elsa would do -- at least, not to his knowledge.

Then again, it wouldn't be the first time the brunette had caught him off guard, and it surely wouldn't be the last either. She seemed to enjoy herself -- at least to some degree, so there was that. He wasn't going to complain.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa rolled her eyes. "I just did," she insisted. Though not soon after that, she was flushing, not from the flirting or the movement, but because she'd overlooked something. Elsa Bellefonte did not overlook things; she certainly didn't overlook something like an armload of fireworks. She'd put away hers, to be sure, but clearly Riley had been... distracted, and that meant he'd likely been standing there, flirting instead of working...

...which Elsa had certainly been encouraging.

"Ah, so you clearly can't flirt and work at the same time," she said, stepping forward. She reached into his arms, extracting a smaller armload of fireworks. "I should have known. Too busy telling me I'm 'cute' to do what you're supposed to," she flashed him a smile and moved to put away the armload, perhaps being a bit more sloppy than she would have been normally. "You do understand why I don't care for that, right?" she looked over her shoulder at him, eyebrows raised expectantly. Was she expecting him to read her mind? Maybe a little. It wasn't that hard though:

Erika was the pretty twin.

[Riley Coleson]

He stood completely still as Elsa went to grab the fireworks out of his arms. "No, can do," he grinned at her. Maybe he should have felt bad, but really, how could she blame him? Elsa was beautiful. Any male that didn't get distracted by her was either gay, taken or dumb as a damn cake. "You are cute," he repeated, shrugging as he lowered his hands, sticking them into his pockets. "If you ask me... You don't look all that bothered, missy," he said, winking at her. He figured that if Elsa truly disliked something, he'd known, and she certainly wouldn't be smiling.

And of course, the actual meaning behind her words was completely lost on him. He was no mind reader, and Elsa didn't exactly make a habit of letting someone into the dark corners of her mind. It was something the boy had come to expect though. He did however learn something new here and there, and had learned to take everything in stride.

Offering Elsa his hand then, Riley wiggled his eyebrows before chuckling. "Come on. It's time for our date." He was well aware that Elsa didn't think of it as such, but hey, he could always hope, right?

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Yes, more flirting, and more asserting that she was cute. That actually did make her feel good, especially now, as she wasn't exactly dressed to look appealing and she'd only recently been upbraiding him for his behavior. She stretched her mind out for a bit, seeing that he was focused on that, focused on how she looked and how she smiled and acted instead of something else.

And then an extended hand. Elsa looked at it, her brows raised. "Sure we haven't forgotten anything else?" she said, folding her arms over her chest. She couldn't think of anything, and she looked around for a moment, even walking toward the fireworks, doublechecking. "Erika's always been the pretty one," she said, tapping the fireworks. "She's the one everyone wants, the vivacious, lovely, attractive one," she looked over her shoulder at Riley, likely still standing there, waiting for her to come to him, "I'm the smart one, the daughter our parents wanted."

Elsa looked back, tapping another rocket. "And she likely thinks that's the twin to be."

[Riley Coleson]

He remained standing there, with his arm reached out even as Elsa moved away. He watched her though. Followed her with his blue eyes. He listed to what she had to say. At first, when she mentioned forgetting something, the boy furrowed his brows. Then, as she continued, his expression softened, and he lowered his hand. At first, he didn't understand what she was getting it, then, slowly it began dawning upon him; it wasn't a matter of being called cute, it was the fact that she had a twin. An identical twin, nonetheless. Furrowing his brows again, Riley straightened himself up.

Walking over, Riley placed a hand on Elsa's shoulder, giving it something of a comforting squeeze. "I'm not going to pretend knowing what it's like. Having someone who looks exactly the same as yourself. The same body, two different personalities," he added, tilting his head. "But that's just it, right? You are two different people... And despite looking exactly the same, you shouldn't match yourself up like that. Your looks have nothing to do with it. Twins or not; do you guys expect your other two siblings to act exactly the same?" He didn't wait for her response. He already knew the answer. "Exactly; no, you don't. So why are you guys thinking that everyone expect you two to?"

He did however understand that there was plenty of insecurities in the picture. He understood why, too. "Is that why you don't like being called cute?" he asked. Was it because there was another girl out there, looking exactly the same?