Post by Cassidy Carstyn on Mar 5, 2016 21:58:20 GMT -6
She knew dragging Adrian to the bookstore wasn't the best idea but the elder Carstyn twin did offer to help with studying and without much pushing (really, all she had to do was pout), the twins set out to one of the bookstores downtown.
Cassidy had forcibly dragged her taller twin into the store and started browsing. One section in particular had Adrianna moaning and criticising, which only made Cassidy roll her eyes and giggle quietly. She should have seen it as a sign that Adrianna had wandered off when she got to the book she needed for class and didn't hear her twin's voice but she was busy looking for the particular book it completely left her mind.
"I think I'll get this." She started, addressing Adrianna. Or rather, who she thought was Adrianna. "I couldn't find it at the library and it's actually pretty che-" she paused when she turned around and to her surprise, it wasn't Adrianna.
No, the person standing beside her was none other than William Spencer. The boy she had had a crush on since she saw him the first week she got to BA. The boy who turned into a mountain lion. The boy...well the man now, she supposed. The man who had an accent she could listen to reading the back of a shampoo bottle.
Post by Will Spencer on Mar 6, 2016 16:03:09 GMT -6
William was doing his best, trying his hardest, grasping at whatever semblance of normalcy he could just to keep himself level-headed. The library was no longer the safest place for him to go because it triggered several memories he'd like to quite forget. That was where he'd passed out and that was when his life had become much more complicated than he had banked on so soon. If no surrounded by books in a library, his next option was the bookstore. Lucky for him, he'd needed to go there in search of a specific copy of his favorite novel by Tennyson. A collector of classic American and British Literature, he found solace surrounded by the romance novels.
It did pose a bit of an issue, however, that he was currently one-handed. The majority of the bones in his hand had been shattered and it was going to take a hell of a long time for it to be even remotely of any use to him. He'd been lucky as to have swiped with his left paw, as to keep his dominant hand accessible. Writing, typing, all of it would have been damn near impossible with his left. Reading however was still proving to be difficult. He'd already done a once-over of the entire store and hadn't found what he sought, so to kill more time until he went back to sulk in his place alone, he decided to read the Tennyson classic that they had, even if it wasn't special.
He walked around, his hand on the binding, balancing it on his palm while he flipped the pages carefully with his finger. His other hand rested at his side in a thick, hard-shell cast. As he walked among the aisles, he came across a girl talking away. Maybe it was the calm feeling that settled over him in the bookstore, or maybe it was just an indifference he felt, but when he heard it, he wasn't annoyed by the inane chatter. As he got closer, he glanced up over the top of the book and his eyes widened slightly. He knew that face, the face of the girl seemingly talking to herself. Will found himself smirking at the sight, highly amused, as she didn't seem to notice that whoever it had been with her, had left without a sound.
When she did notice, he tried to force the smile back, but there was still an amused twitch to his lips, "I thin' your friend left quite a bit ago, luv. She missed out on quite the scintillating conversation you seemed to be 'aving."
Post by Cassidy Carstyn on Mar 8, 2016 22:53:30 GMT -6
The blood could not have rushed faster to her cheeks than in that moment when Will Spencer pointed out her silly mistake. She ducked her head in embarrassment, chewing her bottom lip before forcing herself to look up with a smile.
"Were you eavesdropping on my scintillating conversation there?" She responded with a rather shaky voice. This was the boy she had had a crush on for quite some time; the fact that she could even speak was a miracle in itself.
"My sister...I swear if I don't have her on a leash when I'm in a bookstore..." Cassidy craned her neck turning left and right to find her sister but to no avail.
Post by Will Spencer on Mar 9, 2016 9:55:03 GMT -6
The red against her complexion was unusually flattering, as if she were made to be blushing forever. And part of Will wanted to continue to make her do just that. Her smile initiated a more relaxed one of his own, though he tried not to appear as though he were actually laughing at her. William may not have known every detail of who this girl was, and perhaps he knew her sister a little better (on much worse terms) but he knew enough based on what he'd learned about her (with some creeper-ish digging around he'd done). She was definitely not like her sister.
William's lips twitched into a sheepish smile and he held up his casted hand as a surrendering gesture, "You caught me. In my defense, however, I only came over to make it seem like you weren't completely off your trolley, talkin' to yourself li' that. It was really quite chivalrous of me." Will laughed and closed the book in his right hand, maneuvering it, with some difficulty, so that it rested under the crook of his arm. He wondered briefly what she knew of him, being 'the Other Carstyn' she had to have heard the horror story from her sister about what he'd done and what he was like. Though, Adrianna had seemed a bit too proud to talk about it with anyone for fear of embarrassment. It still amazed him how obnoxious Cassidy wasn't after what he'd seen from her sister. She was so low key and under the radar from everyone else.
"Aye, your sister? Well, it is a place for a specific kind of person. My mate wouldn't be caught dead in 'ere. Smart guy, don't get me wrong, but easily bored," As she looked around he too took a glance over his shoulder. Something told him that if the lovely lady in front of him was caught by her sister even looking in his direction, there would be a slight bit of a problem. Adrianna was dramatic enough to make a scene and Will wouldn't want this perfect stranger to look at him the way everyone else did. Perhaps it was the commonality that they shared a love for books that made him care. Either way, he didn't like the idea of her shirty sister coming in and slag him off.
Post by Cassidy Carstyn on Mar 11, 2016 9:42:46 GMT -6
Biting her lower lip from laughing too much at Will's response to her attempt on joking, the blush came on stronger than ever. "Well, aren't you a hero Kalispell deserves." She replied, wondering briefly exactly when Will would realise that most of her references were from surfing Tumblr day in and day out in her free time.
"He sounds perfect for Adrian." Cassidy joked, noting the struggle he was in with the book. She knew what happened to Will but for the sake of not looking completely like a crazy stalker, she pointed it out, trying for curious rather than nosy.
Post by Will Spencer on Mar 11, 2016 10:02:56 GMT -6
Dark knight reference noted, William's lips twitched again until he couldn't hold back the wide smile that lit his face. This girl was funny in her own right. A quiet, discreet funny that people lacked. "I like to think so," He smirked and his eyes traveled along her face. How could one person turn so red? He almost started to worry that she would catch fire if she burned any brighter. Will hadn't even begun trying to charm her. Maybe he made her uncomfortable and he should walk away? After all, she'd probably heard about him from somewhere and his reputation wasn't the greatest or the kindest. Perhaps she was waiting for him to unleash the beast in the middle of this bookstore.
But for now it rested dormant in his system.
Her joke caused physical pain in his stomach at the idea. The last thing Gabriel needed was some blinkered slapper who liked drama and would likely make his own best friend hate him. Cassidy didn't know that Will knew her sister though, so he knew he had to play it off as something else. "I can only imagine. He's got quite a lot of, er, conquests on his plate so if she's into that sort of thing I guess," He shrugged but he knew that she was. Adrian was the definition of loose from what he knew of her and he'd heard quite a few stories.
The subject change was almost welcomed, but the subject that she had changed to was not something he was willing to talk about. He still was having trouble coming up with an honest sounding story. "A training room accident," He said lamely. Will didn't want to lie anymore. Or maybe he just didn't feel comfortable lying to her. Either way, he wasn't sure he was willing to give her the full story of what happened though either.
Post by Cassidy Carstyn on Mar 11, 2016 10:55:40 GMT -6
Cassidy was trying hard not to smile at Will's smile. She didn't imagine he did that all too often from all her sightings of him. Not that he would ever realise she knew a lot more about him than he did her.
All of a sudden, though, the heat in the place was just a tad unbearable so with a quick rummage in her coat pocket, produced a hair tie to pull her thick hair into a loose ponytail. No, it definitely wasn't from the embarrassment she was feeling being near Will Spencer. It was definitely from the unbearable heat in the air-conditioned establishment. Yes
When he mentioned conquests, the protective side of Cassidy flared up and her lips parted slightly. Did Will just insinuate something about her sister? Or was he talking ill about his own best friend? Either way, that was a little harsh. Even though Cassidy knew Adrianna's reputation was less than savoury, hearing it from someone else was just not nice. Especially not from someone she had previously thought so highly of.
"You talk about your best friend like that, I can't imagine how you would talk about your enemies." She said quietly, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
Pursing her lips when Will seemed a little dismissive about his injury, Cassidy nodded before deciding to move away from that topic onto something a lot more tolerable. Like the reason why they were both there in the first place.
"Tennyson?" She pointed to the book in Will's hand as she hugged her own book to her chest. She figured books were a safe zone.
Post by Will Spencer on Mar 11, 2016 11:41:46 GMT -6
The way she called him on his sort of harsh remark was something he hadn't expected. Most of the time people just accepted that he said whatever he wanted and didn't often care how it came off. He'd tried though, he'd tried to keep the heat off of Adrianna and more on Gabriel because what he'd said was true and Gabe knew that Will didn't quite agree with the way his best friend was. It wasn't much of a conversation they had because usually the focus was on Will's lack of a love life. And although his comment wasn't the nicest, it was the way that he and Gabe spoke to each other, so it didn't seem as awful as she made him feel about it. "Well, I've got a lot more enemies than friends, darling. There's a reason for that," He answered just as quietly.
The fact was, William didn't know how to talk about Gabe. He could defend his best friend to anyone who dared speak ill of him, but when it came to talking highly, he couldn't find the words. It wasn't that he thought poorly of his best friend, Gabe was far better of a man than Will would ever be, but he'd trained himself to only see the bad in people. Looking at Cassidy, he wondered if he could find anything bad about her. Other than the company she kept by talking with him. If she had known a thing about him, she would have just walked away.
William smiled by the one word question she settled on. Books he could do. Books he could talk about for days. "Ah, you know 'Im do ya? The man's a genius," His favorite by far.
Post by Cassidy Carstyn on Mar 11, 2016 13:11:14 GMT -6
She didn't know what it was about her that refused to see the bad in people. Adrian always warned her about Will and a host of guys she should stay away from and yet there she was, standing in front of the boy who made people cringe in his presence, making googly eyes at him.
"You don't have to be." Her hand reached out to grab his arm but she pulled back almost as quickly, realising Will didn't even know who she was.
She cleared her throat and realised just how needed the subject change was when the smile came forth once more. "Yeah, we have lunch every Tuesday." Cassidy answered playfully, feeling a lot less scared now that they were in neutral territory. "My English class is digging up classics and he's our subject for the next three months." She held up her book, which was one of Tennyson's works as well.
"Um..." Cassidy paused when she realised what exactly she was asking of an absolute stranger. "Adrian's supposed to help me with this but I know she'd rather watch paint dry than help me with an English assignment. I don't blame her. But uh...will you help me?" She looked up at the taller mutant, her eyes a lot more hopeful than she had wanted it to be.
Post by Will Spencer on Mar 11, 2016 13:29:28 GMT -6
William glanced down at the gesture she was about to make. The fact that she pulled back was more of a relief than he could possibly admit. The last thing he needed to do was scare this poor girl or make her feel rejected by his own reaction. Will didn't know how to handle physical contact with anyone. He didn't hug. He didn't even shake hands. A comforting gesture from a sweet girl would only have made him flinch away because what if he hurt her? What if something inside was triggered and awoke the beast. Will would never forgive himself for something like that. So although it did in one way disappoint him that she pulled away, he knew it was for the best. Besides, she thought he was oblivious to who she was.
"Lucky girl, I'm sure he charms the socks right off of you, eh?" William laughed and made to rub the back of his neck, but realized that he couldn't without smacking himself in the back of the head with his book. His arm dropped and he sort of huffed in frustration before she spoke again. "Three months? Aye, s'pose it would take some people that long to understand what an amazing writer he is and to understand what he's tryin to convey." The book she held up was not the favorite that he held in his own hands, but it was still as good as any. "The Palace of Art. At least the classes are getting better with their choices," He said in recognition. Will had easily read the book ten if not twenty times.
Upon her request, Will couldn't mask the surprise on his face. The Other Carstyn was asking to spend more time with him? Adrianna would not be pleased, yet his immediate thoughts hadn't even gone to the other twin. He looked down at her, as she was quite a bit shorter than he and he took a moment to think on it. He already planned on saying yes, but how he could tell her without sounding hesitant? Then he remembered a Tennyson quote and simply couldn't resist, "’Tis only noble to be good. Kind hearts are more than coronets, and simple faith than Norman blood.' I would be happy to. I'm Will by the way." He would have offered to shake her hand, but both of his were unavailable, so he just kind of smiled.
Post by Cassidy Carstyn on Mar 11, 2016 14:17:26 GMT -6
A smile blossomed on her face when Will teased her. "I've smartly avoided socks anymore." She looked down at her feet that were actually covered with soft blue socks with black patterns on it in her flats and she chuckled. "On Tuesdays anyway." She shrugged before sweeping away the errant lock of hair that kept escaping from her ear.
She laughed when he remarked on the school's ongoing efficiency but offered nothing in return. Mostly because she didn't mind the things she had learned so far. And also because she didn't really have anything bad to say about the school system in Bellefonte. Which is a far sight better than most public schools.
The surprised look on Will's face made Cassidy frown slightly, wondering what about her request was surprising. Or maybe he didn't think it was appropriate for her to have asked? When the response came, it was her turn to be shocked. Did he just quote a Tennyson poem to reply to her request?
There was the blush again.
"I know." She responded in her shock before realising she had basically admitted to being a stalker. "I mean...yeah. I...I'm Cassidy."
Post by Will Spencer on Mar 11, 2016 14:29:35 GMT -6
"Good girl," He snickered and glanced down at her feet as well. Something about her was oddly comforting and thoroughly genuine. Again he found himself questioning how the twins could be so different. He never had found a genuine thing about Adrian and yet her sister was as real as they came. William almost wished that they weren't related because the whole situation was bound to get complicated when or if Adrianna found out about him. Maybe Cassidy was quiet enough that she didn't tell Adrian every encounter that she had? Could he get that lucky?
His quote had been met with the satisfaction of her face reddening once more. And much to his surprise, she admitted that she knew him. Or rather that she knew his name, but the way she had acted made him feel as though she didn't. If she knew that he was William Spencer then what had convinced her to stay? He'd given her no reason to think poorly of him in their encounter, but surely she knew of the stories. She knew of the way he treated people and that this was definitely not how he usually acted. So what had possessed her to continue with the conversation that they were having?
Will was pleased by the idea that she didn't believe the stories or that she believed them to be something different. Believed that he was someone different.
"I didn't realize I had such a cute stalker, guess I'll 'ave to pay a bit more attention," He laughed and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Don't worry, luv. I know who you are, too." Once Will pulled back he winked at her and smirked, hoping that he hadn't downright over stepped the boundaries and creeped her out. Gabe was the smooth one, despite what Will would say to him. Will hadn't flirted with anyone seriously, it was always wild claims and crude comments from him.
Post by Cassidy Carstyn on Mar 11, 2016 14:54:15 GMT -6
Cassidy's response, had that remark been from Adrianna, would have been an eyeroll and a sarcastic bark but she kept her dignity and pursed her lips, looking everywhere but at Will as she tried not to snort or laugh at the remark.
But she had to cover her face when Will called her a stalker, mortified that she had just screwed everything up for herself. Even more so when he leaned in and told her that he knew her too. "Oh God." She whispered when he stepped away.
Lowering the book, showing just how red her face had gotten, Cassidy wished more than anything else that Adrianna was there beside her. If only to pull her away so she didn't pee on the spot.
So he knew who she was. Which was surprising. Nobody really...knew her. Hell, nobody even knew she was Adrianna Carstyn's twin. But there he was, claiming he knew. It was a ploy, wasn't it? It was just him teasing her. Yes. That was much easier to swallow.
"Um...so...uh...should we just...I mean I don't know how I can contact you."
Post by Will Spencer on Mar 11, 2016 15:00:49 GMT -6
William hadn't meant his comment to be demeaning, though he realized after the fact that it had come off exactly like that. He just hoped she didn't end up smacking him across the face. It would have been well-deserved and definitely a common trait she shared with her sister. Adrian had a mean slap he'd learned. But she looked like she was trying not to laugh, so he felt that he might be safe from being slapped.
As she covered her face, he frowned briefly. He had creeped her out. He totally creeped her out. What was he thinking? Why had he done that? But the way her face burned, was it because she was embarrassed? Flustered? Had he really managed to fluster her? William still looked concerned, "Was that the wrong thing to say? I didn't mean to come off like a bit of a creeper. I just meant that I had, er, seen you around the library. You check out the same books that I do. The librarian always tells me that you beat me to it," He laughed half-heartedly and his hand reached up to the back of his neck, successfully smacking him in the back of the head with the book in his hand.
Smooth, Spencer. Smooth.
He cleared his throat and lowered his hand, hoping to recover somehow. "D'you have a pen? Or a marker of some kind?" Will asked, patting his own pockets to see if he'd remembered his own for writing notes in books like he usually did. He hadn't remembered. Shit.
Post by Cassidy Carstyn on Mar 11, 2016 15:12:30 GMT -6
As Will started to explain himself, Cassidy would have been flailing about had she not been standing in front of her biggest high school crush. And it looked like Will was also pretty flustered. Was it because of her?
But hell, that story about the library was seriously cute. She was a part of a really cute story. That involved Will Spencer. Had she already mentioned that she had had a crush on him since she first came to Bellefonte?
When asked for a pen, Cassidy hugged her book to her chest once more and without even looking down, slid the pen she knew she always brought with her and handed it over to him.