I Dare You -p-

[Blair Collins]

"Uh-huh," she murmured, amused at his surely feigned confidence. "Sure." She quickly took a photo of him sitting somewhat regally on the back of the horse. This will not last long, she knew. She wondered vaguely if it was cruel of her to take find entertainment in Pilgrim who was certainly going to give the man a world of pain. Meh, fun was fun. Sure enough, Pilgrim bucked suddenly and the man cursed.

Seeing his sudden panic, Blair laughed and almost missed a good shot. But she got it nonetheless. Now this would last a long time. "What was that? I can't hear you over how hilarious that was!" She snapped another photo of Gabriel's glare. It seemed that Pilgrim did not choose his riders, but rather, his victims. "But hey, you beat your record of 5 seconds!" she called out.

[Gabriel King]

All he could hope for was that Blair had managed to take some attractive pictures before Pilgrim started his games, and that she wouldn't somehow email them to every student and teacher in the school. That wasn't too much to ask, right? Well he was skeptical. She seemed far too enthusiastic; though he supposed it was easier to be, off the back of a crazy horse.

"Shut your face-hole young lady!" He yelled, not able to hold back his laughter. Ok so Pilgrim was still going crazy beneath him, but it was exhilarating. He almost felt like he was flying as Pilgrim flew into gear and started running around the outskirts of the arena. Gabriel held on for dear life, but at the same time couldn't resit whooping with joy.
At least a few ladies had noticed him riding the mechanical bull, it had been something of a payoff. It was a far cry from a sniggering student actively taking pictures of his failure. He could cry.

Suddenly Pilgrim stopped his headlong charge. Just, planted his hooves and stopped. Gabriel was completely unprepared and flew right over the horses head, tumbling to the ground with a thump. He lay still and groaned for a moment before glancing at Pilgrim, who appeared to have stopped in order to nibble at a small tussock of grass. "You sick son of a bitch."

@tag

[Blair Collins]

Blair snapped multiple photos in quick succession--Gabriel holding onto a running horse, two of Gabriel flying off the horse, and the last one is of him sprawled out on the ground. Knees weak eith laughter, she ran up to him. She crouched, hugging her knees, and grinned down at the man. "You really showed him who's boss, mate--the horse."

Clicking a button, she took a picture of Gabriel's expression. "All the bull riding turned out to be pretty handy after all, eh? This one is my favourite." She showed him the screen of her camera--he was flying through the air, mid-flail. "And don't worry--I will never let you live this down." Standing again, she held out a hand to him. "I must say, I'm impressed. I did not think you would be up to it." She winked. "The others back home will be glad to know you're as wild as ever."

[Gabriel King]

Opening his eyes again, Gabriel glared at the teenager hovering over him. She wasn't even pretending to appear worried, though at least she'd run to him and not the horse. Gabriel 1, Horse.....ok so it was a tie. "I let him win that one. Gotta build up his confidence," he bluffed, pressing the back of his head into the ground. He hadn't even moved yet and already his back was aching, and it felt like he'd landed awkwardly on his tail.

The camera held just of reach make Gabriel lunge up, then just as quickly fall back as he missed and his abused muscles creaked in protest. He got up again, slower this time and sighed. "You're not going to delete that, mm?" And he was unfortunately above bribing her to get rid of it. There was a part of him...he wouldn't call it pride, but Gabe honestly didn't mind the photographs. It was entertaining to say the least, and Blair was evidently enjoying herself. So he couldn't complain.
God he was a pushover.

"You didn't think I'd be up to it?" Gabriel repeated incredulously. "And what changed your mind in the end, me getting on the horse, or was it getting thrown off that cemented it?" Honestly, it was almost insulting. Not up to it. As if. He was too much of a blockhead to turn any challenge down. "My opinion of you was right however. Do you always prefer to be a critic on the sidelines? I thought you had more kick than that" Honestly with the spring in her step and the enthusiasm of her behavior, he'd have expected her to jump on Pilgrim's back and tame him as soon as Gabriel himself had been knocked off.
"Make sure you make me sound like a conquering hero when you tell my fans, ok?"

@tag

[Blair Collins]

Blair could not stop laughing. It had been so long since she had a full morning of fun. High school teen drama can be really time-consuming, she realized. And boring too. Pretty much the same shit all day and every day. "Hey!" she cried out suddenly. "I just realized I never even introduced myself--the name's Blair, mister." She let her laughter die down before finally asking, "Are you okay?"

She kinked an eyebrow at his disbelief. Of course she did not think he had the guts for it--people rarely do. "You're an adult. I thought you'd consider me childish." She flashed him a quick grin. "You proved me wrong the moment you got on the horse. I'd tip my hat off to you if I had one."

Hearing his opinion of her, Blair scoffed. "Please. I don't ride because we need permission too--and I ain't got any." She poked him. "But is that a challenge, sir?"

[Gabriel King]

He'd been so swept along by Blair's energy that he hadn't even noticed the missing introduction. It was nice to finally have a name to go along with her face though, and from his position on his back Gabriel stretched up a hand again for her to shake. "Pleasure, Blair. Glad to see you prioritize torturing innocents with your camera over actual introductions." Since she did seem genuinely concerned about his health then, Gabe sat up to assure her that he was quite fine. Just a bruised back, but definitely not a bruised ego.

"Blair.........I don't know how to tell you this but, I just jumped on a horse I had no idea how to ride and was thrown half-way across the arena. I don't have any right to be pointing fingers and shouting 'childish'." Which in retrospect, sounded pretty bad to his adult ears.

And yet off he went again, interest sparked at the first hint of a challenge. A wild smirk crossed his features and Gabriel tipped his head. He certainly could offer such a challenge. He wasn't a teacher anymore so he couldn't even get into much trouble for screwing around with a fellow student. "I don't know Blair, I wouldn't want you to break a nail or something," he replied smoothly instead, busying himself with untying and neatening his mussed hair.

@tag

[Blair Collins]

Blair took the outstretched hand gladly and shook it. "And hey, you're not totally innocent. You told me you did some jail time, remember?" Whoops. She hoped that was not a sensitive subject.

She lifted one corner of her lips at his comment. "Puh-lease." Flipping, her ponytail over her shoulder, she wiggled her fingers dramatically. "I am too pro for that." She laughed at him, fixing his hair. Deliberatly provoking her--that was a first. It had been a while since she actually did a dare. Most of the time, it was pretty much proving to other people that looks can be deceiving. And sometimes she simply challenged herself.

The girl folded her arms across her chest and made a face of mock-innocence. "Or maybe you are scared you might get showed up by a petite little girl."

[Gabriel King]

"You'll get a little wild in your college days too," he promised, laughing. Hopefully not wild enough to commit murder, but that had certainly been a strange situation. It was probable that Blair would never find herself in the same kind of scenario. Hopefully.

He almost felt immature for goading a much younger student into trying a dangerous activity just because he himself had just failed at. He considered taking it back, but where would be the fun in that? It was obvious he wasn't dealing with a moron after all, and he wasn't cocky enough to believe he could manipulate Blair. "Too pro, or too arrogant?"

Having decided he'd spent more than enough time on the ground, Gabe pushed himself to his feet. His poor pants were covered in dust. A few puffs of dirt erupted from the material as he patted them down, much to his dismay. "Oh, you caught me," he moaned. "I live every day in fear of tiny blonde girls." Jerking his thumb over his shoulder to Pilgrim, who was standing innocently still, Gabriel smirked. "You going to get on the horse, girly?"

@tag

[Blair Collins]

"You should." She made a mock-serious expression. "We can be quite vicious."

She stretched her neck to see the horse behind Gabriel and bit her lip in hesitation. It was not that she was afraid of getting on it. Heck, she was quite excited too, really. Her reluctance was more due to the fact that one would require permission to ride the horses. She did not want to get in trouble. But he had called her "girly". Blair looked around. The stable hands seemed to be distracted this early morning... And she supposed she always pretend she was with Gabriel--which in a way, she was--for this little adventure, at least.

She exhaled sharply. "Okay, I will." She walked up to Pilgrim bravely--or stupidly, depending on one's perspective. The horse watched her, its heart beating faster in anticipation of another victim rider. She stroked its mane. Hmph, it was a well-groomed creature. If only it was tamed just as much. Oh well, that should be part of the fun.

Blair climbed onto its back and steadied herself in the saddle. She handed her camera to the older man. "Be a doll and hold this, would you?"

[Gabriel King]

Gabriel chuckled, pretending to take the note down on an imaginary notepad. "Don't I know it." He probably would have feared jail more if he'd been kept with adolescent females instead of hardened criminals. Honestly that could have more to do with the fact that he did not fear defending himself against grown men, whereas he would most certainly hesitate to go to blows with a girl, young or otherwise.

His refused to let his confident grin waver as Blair made up her mind. He hadn't really expected her to turn down, but now that she had agreed to try her hand with Pilgrim, it made it partly his fault if she hurt herself. Was he ready for that responsibility?
Supposedly he'd have to be.

He stepped forward to claim the camera, a little cockiness seeping back into his posture. "Oh, leave it to me," he assured her. If she could document his downfall then he owed her the same courtesy. He backed away to a safe distance, leveling the camera so he could watch Blair through the scope. "Ready when you are."

@tag

[Blair Collins]

i dare you.

Okay, so maybe handing her camera to the guy she had mocked moments earlier was not such a good idea. But he already held it at the ready so it was too late to ask for it back now. "Get some good shots before he kills me, a'ight?"

Blair steadied herself, feeling the horse's heartbeat beneath her. When was the last time she rode a horse? Probably when she was a kid and there was a supervisor to guide the creature. She swallowed, wishing she had been graced with zoology instead. "Gently, please..."

She nudged Pilgrim's side softly but unfortunately he took this as a sign to start running. He galloped around the arena. His rider lost hold of the reins and resorted to gripping his mane. She found her heart was racing as fast as the horse. On the outside, she was between laughing and screaming but internally, she cursed like a sailor.

"Stop!" she finally shouted, giving in. Surprisingly the horse obeyed and skidded to an abrupt halt. Blair's forehead connected with the back of his neck. "Ow..."

tag: gabriel | notes: none

[Gabriel King]

Gabriel sniggered. "Count on it." His finger rested enthusiastically on the button, and he hoped the camera already had all the good settings switched on. He wasn't familiar with camera techniques and didn't see pressing random buttons and turning switches would be polite to someone so obviously dedicated to their art.

He made sure to snap a few shots of the pair tearing around the arena. He barely realized he was biting his lip nervously waiting for Blair to go flying. Despite the fun of teasing, he had no wish to see her get hurt. He was distracted from Blair's problems when Pilgrim wheeled around the outskirts and began heading back his way. Protecting the camera he dove sideways, rolling. By the time he was able to pop back up, the horse and rider had somehow managed to stop.

Wincing in sympathy, Gabriel dropped the camera in his lap and grinned. "Having fun?"

@tag

[Blair Collins]

i dare you.

Swinging one leg over to the same side as the other, Blair slid off the horse. As her feet touched the ground, her knees shook. That was one hell of a ride. She rubbed her forehead and staggered towards Gabriel. He was grinning! The nerve. "Very much, yes," she said sarcastically but could not help but flashed a smile as well. "I especially enjoyed the part when you tucked and rolled."

Speaking of which... "Is my camera okay?" She made a quick grab for it and checked for any scratches. It seemed fine but she still rubbed away imaginary dust particles. She tutted dramatically. "Awfully reckless of you, Gabriel. Did no one ever tell you to stay out of a horse's way when it is raging wildly through the fields?" She scrolled through the pictures he took. "Not bad. Beginner's luck or otherwise?"

tag: gabriel | notes: sorry for the wait x3