A Chance Meeting [Cleo]

[JULIAN SORENSEN]

"And that's all for class today, remember to read the next three chapters in your textbooks, there will be a test--"

As Axel collected his books and put away his notes, he tuned out the professor at the front of the classroom. Shouldering his messenger bag, he sighed softly to himself and ran a hand through his hair. Time to leave. He had another four hours to kill before his next class, and he had no idea how he was going to spend it.

He thought about doing some of his schoolwork. No. He'd done enough of that last night, and he deserved a bit of a rest. There was no need for him to overexert himself; he was a diligent enough student, got good enough grades. A little relaxing time was probably just what the doctor ordered.

Pulling slightly at the hem of his t-shirt, Axel left the classroom, deep in thought. He didn't like it when he was this unsure of what to do. But without a doubt, he'd find something to occupy his time.

After a brief walk, he ended up at the Student Center. Taking a seat, he dropped his bag at his feet and took to people-watching, observing the students walking back and forth around him. Of course, there was no-one particularly interesting to watch at the moment, but it was at least something to do. The only other thing he knew to do was read, and he had a bit of a headache. He'd save that for later. No need to go straining himself now.

Goodness, he sounded horribly lazy, didn't he?

He chuckled to himself and shook his head. Be that as it may, he had plenty of time to do his work. Besides, he had better things to think about. Like Marlena. And...well. Marlena. Mostly Marlena. He liked thinking about her.


notes;; God this is hideous. I'm sorry. ;;

[CLEO EVERETT]

Cleo didn't like it when she was unsure of what to do. It was one of her least favorite things ever. It made her feel indecisive and unsure and she hated it because she liked knowing what she was doing. It was frustrating to say the least. She had homework. Did she want to do her homework? ... Not really. It wouldn't kill her to take a break from working all the time. ... Not that she did work all the time. Hardly. As if. Work was boring and headache inducing.

So, Cleo decided to do the first thing that came to mind. Or... well, the second. Homework was the first thing and she didn't want to do that. No, she'd people watch. It was, after all, one of her favorite hobbies. She'd enjoyed doing it before Psychology but it became all the more interesting once she'd begun taking the class. People could be an absolute delight to watch. She opted for a circle of cozy armchairs, settling into one. Cleo pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them. The best part was that she was the farthest thing from obvious and it made her feel very stealthy, which she was usually not at all.

For awhile, she sat there, people watching. It was fun and it would help her in case this came up in class sometime soon. There were couples arguing or being lovey-dovey. There were the students studying, either alone or in groups. There... Cleo sat up a little.

Did she know him? He looked awful familiar. Hmm... Deciding she'd grown tired of people watching, Cleo got up and grabbed her bag before making her way towards the man. The closer she got, the more she recognized him, but still no names coming to mind.

By the time she'd taken a seat across from him, his name had come to her. "You're Axel." She commented, tilting her head. "Marlena's friend." Yes! He was in the chat room at some point and... oh. Wait. Hadn't she made the mistake of assuming they'd known each other when they'd only just met? "Or acquaintance. Whichever. I don't remember if you said you were friends or not in the chat room."

... Well, this was all sorts of strange, wasn't it? "I'm Cleo," she introduced herself quickly, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry. I just... I was people watching and I recognized you so I thought I'd come say hi."

notes; i discovered the wonder of using note pad to write posts and now they are coming out all long and ramble-y xD

[JULIAN SORENSEN]

Axel had been sitting about for a few minutes, watching people in a manner far more cynical than Cleo. Every lovey-dovey couple made him roll his eyes slightly. Every arguing pair made him smirk a little. He couldn't help his reactions; he'd been disillusioned for far too long. Axel had little hope for humanity anymore. The gloom he'd sunken into several years ago had washed away his sense of hope.

It took him a moment before he noticed the redhead advancing on him, and even then, he didn't pay much attention to her until she deliberately sat down across from him. Then he looked up, dark eyes expressionless, as she spoke.

"You're Axel."

"...I am," he said, his voice slightly perplexed.

"Marlena's friend. Or acquaintance. Whichever. I don't remember if you said you were friends or not in the chat room."

"Ah. Yes. Marlena and I are...friends." Immediately, thoughts of the beautiful young woman flooded his mind, and he was slightly distracted. Only Cleo's voice snapped him back to reality.

"I'm Cleo."

"Cleo." Right. He remembered her from the chatroom...she had appeared there once or twice while he was speaking to Marlena. They appeared to be friends. Now he could remember more clearly..."fishbowl" or something.

"Sorry. I just... I was people watching and I recognized you so I thought I'd come say hi."

"Oh. Well." He nodded slightly, a bit distracted. "Yes. I remember you well enough. We met on that chatroom..." His eyes flickered back to her, and he raised an eyebrow. "I was people-watching as well. I didn't have much to do..." Shrugging loosely, he sat back in his seat, observing her quietly; his eyes were as oddly intense as always. "In whatever case, it's a pleasure to meet you. A friend of Marlena's is a friend of mine."

He was not usually this pleasant to people, but the fact that she was associated with Marlena softened his usual spite. Marlena tended to have that effect on him - softening him. He wouldn't want to be cruel to a friend of hers and risk her being upset with him.