BY THE STROKE OF NOON {charley & ezekiel}

[EZEKIEL MAYS]

Ezekiel Mays had somewhat enjoyed the chat he had taken place in the night previous. Though there were some odd characters in there, some people were just going to be weird and that wasn't going to change. There was one that he was still thinking about though, the too-honest one, ckharper. Her avatar looked semi-familiar like he had before, and the way she was just seemed... familiar. It was weird to him seeing as it was the internet, the picture was tiny, and her words were on a screen instead of being spoken. Maybe she goes to school here, for all he knows. In fact that could very well be it. He didn't know half the people in some of his classes, and a girl like that would have to be talked about.

This was still very strange to him. He had only met this girl online and he felt sort of a pull towards her, like he had to help her with something, more than anyone ever before. And he never got so obsessed with one thing or being before in his life. It was a curious and alluring feeling, yet so frustrating at the same time because he'd likely never see the girl in real life. What a shame, since this new interest was practically all he could think about since logging off chat.

And what was funny was that the others thought they were flirting. It wasn't that sort of feeling at all, not really. Honestly he didn't know what it was.

These thoughts continued as he stepped out of his class and into the halls. This whole day, his movements and actions have been along the lines of going through the motions. Zeke kept getting distracted by the said dilemma, and he was almost positive he had forgotten what the homework was in every morning class.

It was really starting to bug him how he couldn't think. Even as he walked through the halls, the ever-punctual boy was not checking his watch as he usually did, making sure he was on time. He started to feel people bumping into him, but he really didn't do a thing about it.

_Tag?![/color]:[/b] Charley
Words?![/color]:[/b] Absolutely no idea.
Notes?![/color]:[/b] template is late.
Lyrics?![/color]:[/b] What's This ~ The Nightmare Before Christmas
Credit?![/color]:[/b] Le Twix ! @ Caution 2.0[/sub]

[CHARLEY HARPER]

and I know someday that it'll all turn out

[/color][/size]
you'll make me work, so we can work to work it out[/color][/font][/i]
———————————————

That stupid gym class was finally over, thank god. Out of all of her classes, Charley thought that gym was the worst waste of time, no competition. What use did playing dodgeball ever do anyone? You never saw anyone in the news for being an amazing dodgeball player, and it's not like dodgeball prepared anyone for anything in the future. The whole idea of gym was stupid, kids got more exercise walking across school than standing still and trying to avoid being pummeled by football players. Charley was just glad she was done with it for the day, and the one good thing about the class was that the gym was right by her locker, so she could stop by and pick up her books in between classes.

As she started unloading her gym stuff and putting books in her bag, her mind wandered off to the chartroom last night. Charley knew she needed to stop going on those things, but at this point, it was one of her only ways to get some social interaction outside of school. The people online made it their goal to try to bring her down, which she was used to. Charley would always remind herself that if they were afraid of her, they were going to have a tough time in the real world when everyone is treating them ten times worse. In fact, she was being easy on them, comparatively! It did frustrate her, however, that no matter how many new people came in, they all seemed to dislike her. Except for the boy last night. I mean, he wasn't nice, but he wasn't mean either. He was understanding. He didn't just automatically write her off like the other people did, he listened to her and respected her opinion. Now that was how people should act! She didn't understand why listening was so hard for everyone else. He probably had a far greater intelligence than the other people, maybe it was even close to her own.

It did bother her, however, that people were accusing them of flirting. For one thing, there was no way Charley could even be interested in the boy, she'd never met him. He was a little icon with a line of type, flirting with that would be ridiculous. Also, she didn't even know she knew how to flirt. Boys were out of the question for her right now, it was way too close to college to get preoccupied in something as stupid as a boy. Not that she'd ever had a boy be interested in her, of course. She usually scared them away pretty quickly.

Charley looked down at her watch: it was 11:59. So if her class was on the other side of the school, she may only get there…three minutes late! That would be fantastic, Mr. Baumgartner would surely forgive her for pointing out his mathematical error if she was only three minutes late! Wait…if she walked quickly, maybe she'd be only two minutes late! That would for sure clinch her place as the top student in the class. Charley quickly shut her locker and stuffed the rest of her books in her bag and started power-walking down the hallway (running looked unprofessional.) Just as she was a few feet from the classroom, her notebook started to fall out of her bag. As she went to go put it back, she stopped watching where she was going and collided into someone, and books and pens and notecards went flying everywhere. "Damn it!" Charley said louder than she wanted, as she started to pick everything off the floor. There goes the being only somewhat late idea.

[/color]

tag: [/color] zeke!
words:[/b][/color] 621 O.O
notes:[/b][/color] sorry that it's so long!
lyrics:[/b][/color] haven't met you yet - michael buble
credit: myself yo [/size][/center]

[EZEKIEL MAYS]

Being zoned out as Ezekiel was had not been a major problem, until someone ran into him and all of thier stuff went everywhere. All he saw was blonde hair before kneeling down to help. "Sorry! I should have been paying attention," he said as he picked up various pens and notecards. As he went for a pen near the middle of the hall, someone stepped on his hand. "Dammit!" he muttered. Everyone else was just walking on by, the assholes. The lack of decency in people just got to him sometimes and he scowled.

His watch beeped, signaling the new hour, when he looked up at the girl who bumped into him. Oh my god, it was her. The girl who he had been distracted with in the first place. He knew it straight away, though her image had only been a thumbnail. The familiar feeling flooded back into him after being temporarily forgotten in the moment and he stared at her, perfectly still, for a good fifteen seconds before realizing that would probably freak her out. Immediatly he went to pick up more things, watching out for feet and praying she didn't notice. Though it was highly unlikely, seeing as it had been totally obvious, but a confused guy could still hope.

It was then that the bell rang. The late bell. Late? No, it couldn't be. Not Ezekiel. He had never been late in his life. But he looked around, seeing only a few people he had noted were generally late to class. This was... impossible. Hadn't he been checking his watch as usual? No, he was preoccupied with his frustating obsession that would not stop bugging him. Ezekiel Bejamin Mays, who usually got to classes (and everywhere else) early, was late. Late. He hated that word. Now he felt like such a hypocrite. Things like this must have happened to the people he had abandoned for being a few minutes late, well, some of them. Ugh, he would never complain again. Out loud.

This would quite possibly the worst day of Ezekiel's life, if it hadn't been for the girl in front of him.

[CHARLEY HARPER]

and I know someday that it'll all turn out

[/color][/size]
you'll make me work, so we can work to work it out[/color][/font][/i]
———————————————

"Oh, um…it's okay," Charley said, as she started to pick up her books. Of course it wasn't okay! But what was she supposed to say, 'Thanks for your apology, but you just ruined my life?' He had just killed her only shot to get in the good graces of Mr. Baumgartner, because he was most likely going to make a mistake that needed to be pointed out today. If he gave her an A- again this semester because of her 'attitude problem' (she didn't know why people kept telling her that), it would ruin her GPA. So this kid better have had a good explanation for why he ran into her. Well, actually, now that she thought about it…she was the one who ran into him. But in her defense, he was the one in the way! She got all the way here without running into anyone, so he must not have been paying attention. Oh, which was what he said earlier. Well good then, at least he was taking the blame.

She finally looked up at him for the first time…he looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn't place where she knew him from. Huh, kind of weird. But whatever, she didn't really have the time to think about that now, her stuff was all over the freaking hallway. And this kid was doing nothing about it. She probably would have just kept walking if she was in the same situation, but he wasn't even doing that. He was just…looking at her. It was like she was some sort of scientific anomaly. Okay, she got it, he probably heard about her from somewhere and was scared out of his wits, but this was a bit much. Charley tried to avoid his gaze by staring intensely at the floor as she started picking everything up. It just kind of made her feel self-conscious, people didn't usually stare at her for that long. In fact, people usually avoided looking at her.

Oh, now he decides to start picking up her stuff. Way to be really awkward. Not that she was the queen of suave moves, but really, this kid was acting really strange. Wait…if he was helping her, he obviously didn't know who she was. Nobody who had heard of her would never do anything like that. Well, that made the staring even weirder.

[/color]

tag: [/color] zeke!
words:[/b][/color] 402
notes:[/b][/color] sorry it sucks, i'm exhausted grr
lyrics:[/b][/color] haven't met you yet - michael buble
credit: myself yo [/size][/center][/quote]

[EZEKIEL MAYS]

Eziekiel could tell she that it wasn't really okay. He handed her her stuff and rubbed his smashed fingers. They hurt, but they were definitely not broken. Thank goodness it wasn't a fat kid, or he'd have been screwed, for sure. Zeke was still tripping about being late (yes, tripping, he sometimes thought that though would never say it aloud. Ever), but he needed to make sure the girl actually was ckharper. Of course, he knew it in his heart and that was proof enough, but if he didn't want to continue on this awkward path, he needed to say something.

Zeke was mentally hitting himself as he spoke. "Sorry, you just look really familiar." Well, yes, we go to the same school. It's really likely you'd look familiar. "Name's Eziekiel. But you can call me Zeke, if you'd like." Like she'd really like to do anything but run away while you keep staring, you creep. You late creep. Tardy. You call yourself punctual? That late bell has stopped ringing, Eziekiel Mays, and this girl is the reason you aren't in your seat in class. But go ahead, keep scaring her off. Maybe she'll log into that chatroom again someday.

His mental check for doing things wrong was running a little late, too. The hypocrite.

"Are you heading to Baumgartner? I hear he's the worst." Zeke never had him as a teacher, he had. Uh. Now he couldn't even remember the teacher's name at the moment. What the hell?

So obviously, he could never be late again, because it was insane how disorganized and, well, insane he got when it happened. Seriously, this was probably even more frustrating than the whole ckharper thing to begin with. Though that may be contributing to his mental state because it was the weirdest thing he'd ever felt in his life. Plus the girl was in front of him, probably thinking he was an idiot. Or crazy. Was he?

tag; Charley
notes; I'M SORRY IT'S AWFUL AND IT TOOK SO LONG. D:
words; 332

[CHARLEY HARPER]

and I know someday that it'll all turn out

[/color][/size]
you'll make me work, so we can work to work it out[/color][/font][/i]
———————————————

She looked up at him again and gave a forced smile as she continued picking up the variety of colored post-its that had fallen out onto the floor. As he handed her a pile of notebooks, she saw that his hand looked smashed…like someone had stepped on them or something. Shit, that was probably her fault. She would somehow make the one person in this school who didn't completely despise her get physically injured. Maybe she should say something nice, he couldn't hate her then, right? "Oh! Your fingers look…hurt." Charley mentally slapped herself as the words escaped her mouth. Way to state the obvious. Now not only was he going to hate her, he was going to think she was a total idiot.

Did he just introduce himself to her? Charley had to stop the 'Why?' that was at the tip of her tongue from coming out. What the hell was going on? Was this some sort of bet or something? She looked around the hallway for any people that would be running the show. But nope, there was nobody around. She bit her lip as she looked back up at the boy standing in front of her again. He looked…dare she even think it? Friendly. Maybe he was genuinely interested in knowing her name. Or the more likely option, maybe he was a pedophile. But he looked too young to be a pedophile…he had to be around her age. And he obviously went to Baum, unless he was just a creeper kid who wandered the halls. Oh shit, he was probably a thief. He bumped into her to take her things. Not that she had anything of value in that bag. But still, he didn't know that! He was talking to her so he could find out more information and rob her later. Okay. There had to be a way to deal with this calmly and responsibly. Well, giving him her first name couldn't hurt, right? Maybe it would get him off her back. "Charley. And I like Zeke." That wasn't a lie, she did like the name Zeke. She didn't usually like calling people by their full formal names, because she had never gone by hers.

Oh, he knew a teacher here. And it was one of the teachers who had one of the more complicated last names at Baum…so it wouldn't make sense that that would be the teacher he'd choose to point out if he was a thief and was just trying to pick a random teacher. Well, now this whole thing really didn't make any sense. "Yeah, unfortunately. It doesn't help that now that he's dating Mrs. Schumacher his head is more in the clouds than into Algebra." Screw Algebra. This conversation was too interesting to leave now.

[/color]

tag: [/color] zeke!
words:[/b][/color] 478
notes:[/b][/color] sorry for the wait/rambling
lyrics:[/b][/color] haven't met you yet - michael buble
credit: myself yo [/size][/center][/quote]

[EZEKIEL MAYS]

"Nah, it's fine. I've seen worse on television." That was a horrible reply. Horrible. Of course there's worse on television. I mean, the shit they played nowadays was awful. Especially late at night. Not that he watched late night television.

It was a good thing he wasn't speaking aloud at the moment, or he would look more of an ass out of himself than he did already. At least, he thought so. She probably did too. Now what did she say her name was...?

Oh, she just did. "Charley." He repeated her name, acknowledging that he got it. Zeke never forgot names, ever. Whoa, wait. Charley started with a C. This could be his excuse to make sure it was ckharper!

"So, do you ever go on any internet chatrooms?" Smooth. I'll take random, creepy questions for 1000, Alex. He was never like this, especially around girls. He subconsciously blamed it on being late, though he was kind of being stupid before. Zeke ignored that, though, and continued on, hoping that he could get her to ignore the randomcreepy part of the question but not the question itself.

Because that was totally likely and possible. But Zeke ignored that possibility, too.

"I heard about that somewhere. And that he was making mistakes, and someone keeps correcting him. I bet she got that look and a grade deduction because he's that much of an asshole." There wasn't a name in that rumor, more a depiction involving the words "schooloholic", "blonde", and "bitch". Not that he really listened to rumors, but it always made him happy when students corrected teachers, for some reason.

notes; I hope the rumor thing is okay. And apparently this is what I deem 'a good post'. But I really wanted to get it done. Sorry. You can rant at me, if you want.

[CHARLEY HARPER]

and I know someday that it'll all turn out

[/color][/size]
you'll make me work, so we can work to work it out[/color][/font][/i]
———————————————

He'd seen worse on television…really? Did he just say that seriously? Charley's eyebrow's raised. Apparently this one was not the smartest cookie in the box.

"Um…sometimes?" What an odd question. I'm pleased to meet you, and by the way, do you go on internet chatrooms? This kid may be a bit off his rocker. Wait…what was she known for on internet chatrooms? Oh that's right, being a bitch. Or as Charley would put it, being too honest for people to handle. Dammit, he was probably lurking in one of those chatrooms while she was going off on someone. Oh god, it was probably one of his friends and he recognized her picture and now was going to rob her. Okay, maybe she could make a deal with him. She'd let him have this stupid ring she stole from Trop Cher because she was mad at whore girlfriend in exchange for the debate notes he was currently holding. He'd have to take that deal, right? This was an expensive ring, it would sell much more than her debate notes. Unless…oh my god. Unless he was a SPY sent from the other team to take her debate notes and get her disqualified for using an internet chatroom! Could you get disqualified for using an internet chatroom? She had read the entire rule book, and it never said anything about that…could she have missed it? Maybe she--

Oh wait, the boy was talking again. And he was…defending her. Wait, this couldn't be happening. He didn't even know her, yet he heard one of the stupid rumors that were always going around about her and was defending her to what he thought was a random stranger. And even better…he was right. He saw right through the lies and got out the truth without even having been there to witness the scene for himself. Maybe he wasn't a spy or a robber, maybe he was just…perceptive. And…nice. Charley smirked to herself at the fact that it took her this long to even consider the possibility. "I would bet money on that, because it's exactly what happened. Don't believe rumors that tell you otherwise." She looked back up at the kid and gave a slight smile. Who would've thought that this random stranger would be the first person to make her truly smile in a long time.

[/color]

tag: [/color] zeke!
words:[/b][/color] 404
notes:[/b][/color] mehhh
lyrics:[/b][/color] haven't met you yet - michael buble
credit: myself yo [/size][/center]

[EZEKIEL MAYS]

"Um…sometimes?" Yep, he had sucessfully made himself look like an idiot. Not that he hadn't done that already, it was just by the tone of her voice that she really didn't think he was normal.

Zeke needed to just focus, and come right out and ask her. Seriously, he was already late as it was, so a few minutes more really couldn't effect him that much. They weren't doing anything in his next class anyways. "Are you ckharper?" he asked. See, that wasn't so hard. Though he could kind of sense her over-analyzing things somehow. "Uh yeah, I'm misterezekielmays from the chat last night." Hopefully that cleared a few things up. He really didn't want her to worry about anything.

"I would bet money on that, because it's exactly what happened. Don't believe rumors that tell you otherwise."

Hmmm. By that smile, he assumed that she was the one who had corrected Baumgartner. Well, good for her. He needed that. Of course, he always liked to know for sure when he was right, so he asked, "I'm guessing that was you, then?" He smiled back at her.