||Open|| Hooked on a Feeling

Harper drank her honey-lemon tea and watched the people walk past the coffee shop. She like the large squared windows that let all the light in, and all the humour that went with people watching. Most of them were just stupidly blundering about, and she wondered why relatively intelligent folk somehow managed to forget how to do simple things, like read, when they were in public. She had already counted five customers that had used the wrong door, despite the sign, and another three that had pulled instead of pushing the door open. Their surprised faces always gave her a smile.

She toyed with her long necklace, weaving the white glass beads between her long fingers. Her legs were crossed at the ankles and swooped to the side of her chair so that they could be seen by anyone who wanted to look. She wore a thin cornflower blue sundress and white healed sandals. Harper traced the cup's rim with her fingers on her other hand and smiled at the girl behind the counter. The girl blushed and looked away. Harper turned her attention to her tea, once she was finished she would take a look at the dregs and see what would be ahead in her future, or someone else that she happened to be a part of. Tea leaves were harder to read than the insides of some poor animal, but Harper needed the practice.

What she did know was that the air was electric with change, much more so at the school she had only just started to attend. How odd it was and it tasted like something burning. She didn't know what sort of change it was, physical or corporeal...mental?

The leaves would tell her. Or, Harper hoped, would hint at something. If they proved too much of a riddle, she could always take note of what she read and compare them to her ruins or the small intestine of a rat.

"Excuse me."
"Sorry."
"Pardon me."
"Oops let me get that!"

Making his way down a street to the coffee shop, Daniel somehow managed to run into about every person that passed him. Each time he managed to drop a book or a spiral that he was holding - of course causing the other person either to stop and help or just completely ignore him. It took him about ten minutes to get to the shop, and even then when he got up to the counter and managed to order his caffeine for the day - he didn't have enough hands to carry it.

Anxiously and obviously sleep deprived, the young man held his finger up at the woman behind the counter and went to go set his things down on a table just about two away from Harper. Power walking back to his drink, he nodded happily in thanks and handed her the money before heading to his chair. He sat down and began to drink his caffeine as if he hadn't had a sip of water in days, he pulled out on his spirals and a pencil and began writing in it - setting his drink down for the moment.

A second passed and Daniel paused, looking up and around the cafe for a moment - seeming a little dazed and confused until his elbow connected with the edge of his cup - and the hot liquid collided ever so pleasantly with his jeans sinking through the cloth and getting to his skin. Daniel's immediate reaction was of course that it didn't phase him at all - he absorbed the heat thankfully. But, as he realized he was off of school grounds he had no idea if all the people around here knew about gifted people or not. His eyebrows connected in a conflicted expression and he stood up - making a fake little noise of pain as he ran to the napkins to clean up his mess. The whole time the boy being not sure if people would even care or not.

Harper’s brow furrowed with interest as she watched the boy struggle into the room. Yes, struggle was a grand word in this situation as he seemed physically dyslexic. It was a little sad, like when a puppy trips over it ears. She trained the last bit of her tea, the cup’s rim was slightly smeared with her lipstick, and turned it upside down. With one polished nail, she tapped the bottom of the cup and waited for the last dregs to fall.

She looked up when she heard a cup fall over; it was a habit most people did, like when someone walks into the room. Nearly everyone’s attention is grabbed by the new disturbance and then goes unnoticed. One curved brow arched as she watched his confusion over the pain. Again, Harper felt confusion wasn’t the right word but it was the first to come to mind. He did after all, seemed bothered by it but didn’t know at first how to handle himself.

After she watched him for awhile, Harper thought he looked familiar and realized that she had seen him at the school in passing. She smiled when he faced her and gave a small wave, just in case he looked up toward her. Harper turned back to her dregs, having lifted the cup, and frowned. It was nothing more than a fat black lump of tea with a hint of dread and worry. That was the problem with tea; it was always predicting something vague and unpleasant.

As Daniel finished cleaning up his mess, the jittery young man spotted someone waving at him. He paused and hesitated as his male mind processed that this was indeed a woman, a fellow student... a female waving at him. He stopped and gave her a geeky sort of smile, waving back in all politeness. Heading back to his seat, Daniel went on with his work - stopping every few minutes to try and recognize the beyond attractive female that had waved at him. Had she been trying to just to screw with his head? No, of course not... she seemed familiar.

"Y-You go to my school!" Daniel suddenly spoke out-loud, about half of the cafe able to hear his sudden realization. As the people around glanced at him for a few moments then went back to their work - Daniel couldn't help but feel his face grow very hot. Of course though, the young man relished the heat as if some would enjoy a cold towel over their forehead. Daniel though, as he looked back at the dark haired beauty that had acknowledged him - stayed rooted in his seat. His lack thereof social graces telling him that sitting in his seat was perfectly fine, along of course with his hesitancy to approach in female in general.

Harper’s lips curled mischievously. “I do in fact go to your school,” she said in a quiet voice just loud enough so he could hear and the other people wouldn’t be bothered. Harper stood, ordered another tea and then took a seat at his table since he didn’t look like he would be moving anytime soon. “And yet, I don’t know your name.” She paused, pursing her lips as she cooled her tea. “I’m Harper.”

She wondered if he was called something that would match his dark features. Crossing her legs, Harper sipped her tea and watched him. He was a jittery thing wasn’t he? Tallness and raw nerves often didn’t go well with tall people, and that would explain why he had bumped into so many people and made such a fuss with his coffee. “How long have you been going? I only arrived not too long ago. I wanted to wait for the summer so I wasn’t caught in the middle of classes.”

Daniel tensed up as the young woman came over to his table, and his hand gripped his pen hesitantly as she introduced herself. "H-H-Harper? That's a n-n-nice name." He offered up a small smile, unsure on how to deal with the situation. "I'm D-D-D-D-D-D-D-Dan..." the young man stopped himself and took a deep breath for a moment while shaking his head "I'm Daniel," he finally managed to get out all in one breath.

At her question, he paused for a moment to actually think about it before responding. "Uhhh... a f--f-few weeks maybe?" he shook his head before correcting himself. "No, I think maybe a month..."


[ooc; it's kind of crappy! sorry. D: i just wanted to reply before i went to work.]

Harper arched one of her delicate eyebrows, why was he stuttering? Was he nervous? She sipped her tea and nodded. “That’s nice. I haven’t been here much longer either. Do you have any favourite classes?” Then she realized she had flubbed her words and said, “ I mean..are there any classes you’re looking forward to?”

She decided that his neurosis was very cute, but could easily be annoying under the wrong circumstances. Now however, it was adorable. “Would you like your fortune read?” Harper asked with a wide smile.

||Ooc: As for me, it's writer's block!||

She asked him a question, and Daniel couldn't help but feel his face grow hotter and hotter - his dark skin almost hiding the fact that he was blushing. She was a gorgeous person, why on earth was she talking to him? He fidgeted for a moment, twirling his pencil in between his fingers before answering. "Mathematics, science...," Daniel continued to ramble off a few more classes before finally stopping and looking at Harper - conflicted on whether or not he should say yes to her latter question.

On one hand, he considered fortune telling unreliable - his mind of course concentrated around logic. He was though, gifted himself - so Daniel did realize he was a hypocrite in a sense. Grabbing his hair, he frowned and looked down at the table - purely unsure as to what he should do. "I..." he looked up at Harper and chewed on his lip for a moment, feeling his heart skip a few beats as he looked her in the eye. "Okay." He finally gave in, his need to please people overwhelming.

Harper took his hand gently into hers and began tracing the lines with slow strokes. “Ooh, lovely headline. It’s long and curves. Do you work on projects? And it’s obvious how your mind is clear and focused.” She smiled gently, fluttering her heavy lashes before going back to his palm. “And you’ve got a lot of energy!” she added taking a quick look at his life line. Her hand felt so cool against his and she shivered slightly.

Harper leaned back and studied his face for a moment before pushing her hair out of her face with one rough hand. “You’re solid in values, though nervous in love. Am I right?” The smile on her face was deep and thoughtful, the skin crinkled around her eyes. She could use that to her best advantage. “So…the teachers are fighting each other. Will you be going? We could….” She paused, twisting a lock of dark brown hair around her figure as though she were really shy. “I mean…if you want…we could sit together?”

As Harper took his hand - Daniel couldn't help but feel a shiver slide through his body. "T-Thank you," he said to her quietly as she read his palm, his eyes carefully watching her fingers trace along the lines on his palm. The way she touched his hand made his mind wander for a bit, and he couldn't help feel himself heating up more and more until the tips of his hair caught on fire. As she leaned back and as he noticed his hair, Daniel panicked quickly - "I'm so sorry!" he said pulling back both of his hands and patting his hair back to normal. At her question, he nodded briefly - not sure on what exactly to say to it.

As she invited him to go with her though to this said - teacher fighting thing - he frowned inquisitively not really remembering anyone mentioning anything about it to him. As his mind though wrapped around the thought that a girl - an actual female was inviting some where - the corners of his lips quickly tilted upward. "Is that alright with you? A-A-Are you sure?" he moved a little bit in his seat - suddenly feeling a strange pump of adrenaline and happiness. "I mean I'd lo- ... I'd like too! If that's okay?" he looked at her with eyebrows raised high, clear hope in his eyes.

Gossamer trudged into the coffee shop, shaking mud off her boots, dusting off Kuro and squinting up at the menu through her sopping-wet hair.

It had been a bad day. She'd slipped along the riverbank, nearly falling in; she'd crashed into a tree a few minutes later, landing in the mud--

And she hadn't even had her coffee yet.

Walking up to the front of the store, she barely suppressed a glare at the woman behind the counter who didn't even bother to attempt to hide her disgust and fear of Gossamer. "Chocolate mocha, please," she said quietly, letting out a little bit of her power and cackling gleefully (at least to herself and Kuro) as the woman's face immediately became downcast.

Now, now, Gossamer--don't be too mean to the bitch. She is, after all, a mere human, Kuro reprimanded. "Yeah, sorry, sorry," she muttered quietly, nodding in thanks to the arrival of her cup and toning down her powers so the woman would no longer be affected by melancholy. She sat down at a table across from two teens--both older than her--who were, most definitely, flirting with each other. Well, the girl was. The boy was mostly just sitting there and looking flustered.

Young love, Kuro smirked. Silly, but amusing. Gossamer ducked her head to hide the almost-smile that flitted across her face. "Quite."

{Awwwk I hate the ending >.< Anyways, I hope you guys don't mind me barging in like this ;3}

The bell on the cafe door jingled merrily as a dark shape burst into the room. The tiny girl in a battered brown aviator's helmet (probably antique) glanced around the room, a smile lighting up her strange features. If not for the bright pink flower on her tank top, her gender might not have been readily apparent. Heck, it might still be a matter of debate to the more open-minded of the cafe staff and patrons.

She hitched up her pants (baggy black trousers several sizes too big, even with a belt) and glanced around. Her olive eyes halted at the appearance of Gossamer. Without any sort of hesitation, she marched over to the girl's table, stared at her for a beat, then picked up the drink and chugged it. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

A second later, a boy entered. He was clearly flustered, and his clothes and hair were disheveled. His bright green eyes flicked around the room, sliding over people as though he didn't actually see them. He saw Rii make a face and slam down the cup with a vehement, "YUCK."

Wes dashed over to the table, pulling Rii away so she couldn't cause more damage. His eyes widened. Rii had gone and imbibed somebody else's caffeinated beverage. Heaven help them all now. He glanced at the childlike... whatever she was, and back at the person she'd stolen the mocha from.

His apology was well-practiced, but he was awfully embarrassed (an emotion he had almost forgotten until Rii was introduced to his life) so it came out a little too fast. The girl seemed familiar... probably somebody he had seen at school. That made it all worse. "I am so so SO sorry. Rii... Well, she has no manners or social skills whatsoever. She likes to run off and cause other people trouble. You see, I don't think she really understands the concept of ownership just yet and she takes things that belong to other people and this time it's really bad because she's hyper enough without the extra sugar and caffeine. I remember the time she got her hands on a soda...." Wes trailed off, running a hand through his hair and leaves. He added, more slowly this time, "My name's Wes. I'll be replacing whatever it was you were drinking."

He finally noticed that there were plenty of other people in the room. His cheeks burned. Luckily, his natural feel-good vibe tended to put him in good standing with other people (though he didn't know this and typically chalked it down to plain old good luck.) His free hand pulled at the hem of his white t-shirt. He wondered how long it would be before he got something spilled on it. Wearing white when hanging out with Rii was like wearing a sign that said, "Guerrilla art this sucker! Here's a canvas!"

Amongst the other patrons was a pretty chick with dark hair, a guy sitting across from her (middle eastern, maybe? He couldn't tell from where he stood)... a barista with a baffled expression on her face... Oh, he couldn't bear to look at the others.

Gossamer looked up at the ringing of bells, seeing a very strange girl (it--she--was a girl, wasn't she?) burst into the room, standing proudly in the middle of the room with mismatched clothes and very strange eyes. Gossamer squinted. Were those eyes completely...?

The girl's green eyes darted over to Gossamer, and she immediately blushed and ducked her head. Strange thing...um, girl, Kuro commented quietly. Gossamer gave the smallest of nods. Suddenly, she noticed the same girl from earlier grabbing her drink--her drink! her wonderful, life-saving coffee!--and chugging it all down. Gossamer's eyes widened and her neck snapped up to stare at the girl. As far as she knew, most humans didn't interact like this...did they? Oh dear, I certainly hope not, Kuro cringed. Gossamer's eyebrows flew up even further at the girl's defiant "yuck." She was more offended by her reaction to the drink than the thievery itself.

Because of the little girl, Gossamer hadn't noticed someone else's entrance into the coffee shop. A frazzled blonde man came rushing up, leading away the little girl...Rii, was it? and babbling some explanation about Rii's behavior, introducing himself as Wes and promising to pay for a new drink.

Gossamer barely took in a word he said; he was speaking much too fast. However, she did have a general sense of what he was saying and after allowing herself a moment to consult with Kuro, looked up at Wes with eyes wide and prepared to decline the offer.

"...she...she didn't like my mocha,'' she mumbled sulkily.

'Shit. That wasn't supposed to happen,' she thought to herself. Kuro hissed. "Er...I mean, it's alright, you...you don't have to, umm, buy me a new drink..." she trailed off, her reticent nature overcoming her once again. She noted that this man (though not the girl, she was instantly recognizable) appeared vaguely familiar. Perhaps he went to her school--that would explain the almost uncanny vibe coming off of him; it was as if he had a natural tendency to make people feel comfortable.

Wanting to test it out, Gossamer forgot all about the two people standing next to her and focused on the girl behind the counter, sending out her power again. The barista's half-smile immediately pulled down to a frown, her eyes dulled, and she shuffled away from observing the scene to her work again.

'Interesting,' she thought, 'I didn't know people could make others feel this at ease without supernatural help...'

Remembering what had just happened, she glared daggers at the empty cup, willing it to burst into flames. She regretted declining the free mocha--the rest of the day was going to be hell.

Harper instantly pulled away from Daniel and she turned to watch all the commotion with a satisfied grin. “All the beautiful and strange things have come out to play,” she said in a cool deep voice that wasn’t very loud but audible enough for someone to pick up. She twisted the beads of her necklace in her fingers and caught the light in one of the broken glass baubles. She shot prisms of light across the floor and onto the others faces then to the ceiling why they were occupied with coffee disruptions.

Once the others cooled in their chatter she raised her arm high and waved. “Yoohoo, oh come sit with us! We go to school too and I so love meeting new people!” She smiled equally at everyone, turning in her seat as she spoke and her skirt’s slip inched up a clean thigh before fluttering back into place. She loved the electricity in the air that accured when gifted were all grouped, and frazzled, together in a room. The taste was sinful and intoxicating and sweet almost like a bit of candy with an outer coating of lemon sugar. “I’m Harper Quinn and this is Daniel…Daniel Something. Oh do come sit with us.”

Harper placed her fingers briefly back on Daniel’s wrist to remind his skin that she was still there, that she wasn’t finished. If not today, soon. And Harper did love meeting people. She didn’t mind being the center of attention, although her personality would suggest otherwise, but she needed to always be very friendly because who knew who would come in handy and who she could use as a plaything. The oddly dressed girl for one could have been both. Harper smiled and beckoned the group again.

Okay. So the girl was going to be okay with Rii's atrocious behavior. At least, that was Wes's assumption until he saw he look she gave her empty cup. He took a step back. Yikes.

The cute chick from his previous crowd-scanning waved at their strange little trio and invited them over. Oh Gods. Was it just him or was the way her slip slid up her leg... He was having a hard time deciding whether he wanted to meet her eyes or stare at the floor so he wouldn't see the expression on her face. He was in deep shit as it was; no need to exacerbate the issue with roving eyes. He wrenched his gaze upward, remembering that, apart from Rii and public nudity, there was very little he need feel ashamed of.

With little effort, he was able to slip back into a somewhat chill state of mind. "Uh... sure. This is Rii. You guys can call me Wes. Uhhhh...." He turned to the girl and said an apologetic, "I didn't catch your name. And I don't really believe you about the coffee. Mocha. Right. I'll grab you a replacement when I fill my order." He noted the... stuffed animal again, wondering what type of animal it was and why a girl of her age would carry something like that around in public. It wasn't his nature to judge... only wonder.

He turned to Daniel and Harper, vibrant green eyes noticing her fingers on his wrist. So that's how things were. His smile flickered into brightness. "I'll be over there once I settle the drinks."

Firmly guiding Rii, he sat her in a chair near their table and told her, "Stay, Rii. Behave." Even as he spoke those words, a sinking feeling in his gut reminded him that she was about as likely to follow his instructions as the sun was to rise in the West.

Rii, meanwhile, was beaming at the two who had called them over. Something strange was happening in her tummy, but she could ignore it in light of these new developments. The instant Wes turned to walk across the cafe, she was on her feet and greeting them. "Rii," she announced to all present, jabbing a thumb at her chest. "Nicetameetcha!"

Remembering what she had seen over at the other table, she looked over at the dark-haired girl who sat with a dark blob-thing. "Wazzat?" she asked, still smiling although her expression took on a more curious cast.