the food court. how romantic! (mabby)

[danyisdarling]

Gabrielle Montgomery had been at the mall for a couple hours. A small bag hung at her side, slung over one shoulder. There were various things in it, including her sheet of references, a pen or two and lunch so she wouldn't have to spend money here. Where the prices were outrageous. Her honey blonde hair, looking lighter and curlier than usual today, hung over her shoulder in a loose ponytail. Blue eyes were hidden beneath her eyelids as she walked, a permanent grin on her face. Headphones were in her ears, the music player in the pocket of her jeans. A striped top reached her thighs, flowing and light. Her arms were covered by a thin black jacket. Her feet were adorned in gray flats and they clicked against the floor as she made her way to the food court.

In her hands were many, many papers. What were they? Applications. From any store in the mall that would hire fifteen-year olds. Gabrielle actually wasn't a very big fan of Grimm Avenue Mall. It was noisy, for one, which only made it difficult for her to listen to her music without blowing the headphone or breaking an eardrum. Two, there were the mall rats which often found themselves to be better than most and tended to snicker at her when she began to sing out loud. Oh well. If it meant earning money and taking care of herself, fine. She could handle it.

Opening her eyes, and not at all surprised that she hadn't run into anyone or anything, Gabrielle found herself at the food court. It was crowded, of course, and loud. Well, she'd crank up the volume and get started. Heading to an empty table, practically floating in that unique way she walked, Gabrielle claimed the table for herself and sat down. Setting the applications on the tabletop, she reached into the bag for her references and a pen. Next, she dug her Zune out of her pocket and unlocked it, turning the volume up.

Gabrielle skipped a few songs until Rihanna began and she grinned, setting the Zune aside. She began to sing along, quietly and softly so that only someone who sat near her would hear her. Pulling the nearest application towards her, Gabrielle started writing.

( i48.tinypic.com/rgvzg7.jpg
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her outfit cause i actually looked for stuff haha)

[princemarcus]

Marcus had been in the food court for an hour now, but it seemed like twelve hours. He ran his hand through his messy dark brown hair as he turned the page in his giant Biology textbook. Which had to weigh at least 4 pounds. How can they possibly cram that much boring information into one book? It was bizarre, he liked to study in loud places and spend his free time in quiet places. So the food court at the mall was the perfect place to get through the fifty page digestive system chapter. He tuned out the noise around him, and ignored the various people coming and going.

He finally picked his head up and looked up from his book at the person who had sat down at the table next to him a couple moments ago.

Jesus Christ.

Who the hell was that?

She had long, shiny golden hair, and smooth pale white skin. Her eyes were a navy blue that sparkled when the light hit them; just peering into them was like looking into a bright night sky full of stars. She seemed to have an unusual grace, her hand almost danced across the paper as she wrote. And, although Marcus had to be absolutely silent to hear, she was...singing. And her voice! It was like the lightest chime of bells, a soft melody that felt like a brush of silk to his ears.

Marcus' jaw dropped, and his book fell out of his hands and dropped loudly to the floor. He ignored the glares of the other people around him, and walked, almost in a trance, towards the angel girl.

He stood a couple feet behind her for a moment, just listening to the sound of her voice. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. Better than the sound of burning corn, better than the sound of putting on his favorite red hat. Jeez, he wished he had his hat right now. It always gave him more confidence.

As he continued to listen, he recognized the song. It was "Shut Up and Drive" by Rihanna. He laughed as he realized the silliness of it. He assumed she was singing some sort of classical opera. But this was a song that he knew, by heart, actually. As embarrassing as that was.

He slowly pulled out the chair next to the girl, and was careful not to disturb her. It wouldn't have mattered, anyways, she was in her own little world. As she got to the chorus, he joined in.

"Got a ride that's smoother than an limosine, can you handle the curves, can you run all the lights? If you can..."

She finally noticed him, and jumped halfway out of her seat. Marcus gave a slight smirk, and said, "Nice song choice."

[danyisdarling]

One application down. How many to go? A sigh escaped her lips and she dropped the pen. Shaking her hand, then just waving her arms a bit, Gabrielle probably look rather silly at that moment. Did she care? No. No, she did not. Snatching the pen back and moving on to the next paper, she began to fill out the basics. Name, age, gender, address. Etc, etc, etc. Her lips still mouthed the words of the song, her voice spilling from her mouth quietly as the song began over again. Repeat for the win, yeah?

Using her free hand, Gabrielle began to drag her fingers through her hair, managing to tangle it more than before. As if it were curled and tangled enough as is. Well, she needed something to do. Other than write out all these answers over and over again. She sighed again, flipping the page over to write out her references. Again. "Zero to sixty in three point five," she murmured along with Rihanna as she wrote down her Aunt's information. This would definitely get boring in a few minutes. This was all thanks to her easily distracted-ness. After those few minutes, this application was done as well. She shoved it away, letting the music pump through her. All she could hear now was the lyrics, the rhythm. There was nothing else right now.

Lifting her head, she was surprised to be wrong. There certainly was something else right now and he was... was there a word to describe him? His hair was probably the loveliest brown she'd ever seen, tousled and perfect. His eyes... oh, his eyes. Blue had never, ever been so pretty. Her breath caught in her throat and she finally realized what was going on. Practically leaping out of her seat in surprise, she didn't bother trying to catch her headphones as they fell out of her ears. Oh God, had he heard her singing?
"Nice song choice."
Yes, yes, he had. No, no, no! Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but he... he was absolutely... there still weren't any words that came to mind. Why wasn't she saying anything?! Talk, talk now!

"Uhm, oh, well..." Why was she stuttering?
"Er," she paused, reaching for her headphones. "Thanks?"
Really? That was the best she could do? Her subconscious gave a her a quiet 'tsk, tsk.' Her eyebrows had furrowed together in this confused sort of look. She had never been this insecure about her singing and it was probably obvious from the rosy pink her cheeks had turned.

[princemarcus]

Marcus reached over and pressed the pause button on her Zune. He had realized the headphones had fallen out of her ears already, but hey, no use in wasting the battery, right?

Her speaking voice was almost as beautiful as her singing voice: light, soft, and musical. She was even more beautiful up close as well. It wasn't even sexy beautifulness, it was just like God decided to create the perfect example of a human female and this is what he came up with. That was it. She was....perfect. Everything she did was perfect. It was almost intimidating.

Marcus ran his hands through his hair and gave the girl his signature quirky smile. I mean, he'd had a lot of girlfriends, but nothing like her. She seemed miles out of his league. But he had to at least try. Marcus wasn't the type of person to back out of a risky situation. He was always trying to push the limits of what he could do.

He couldn't stop staring at her. He was sure he was freaking her out, hence her stuttering and redness. Hell, if some stranger had just randomly come up to him, he'd be scared too.


"You're very welcome. If you don't mind me asking, you look....familiar. Have we met before?"

Of course they hadn't met before. But if she thought they hadn't met before, maybe she wouldn't be as....shy? She seemed more quiet than he was used to. Hadn't even introduced herself, yet.

[danyisdarling]

Looking away from him as he paused the music, she grabbed the Zune and turned it off. Of course, she didn't want to stop listening to it but it was very rude if she were to keep her headphones in. Stalling for time, she messed with the applications, putting them into a neat pile. She set the pen beside it and then her Zune, headphones wrapped around it, on top of the stack. Well, now that that was organized.

Gabrielle braced herself before looking back at him. This time, she wouldn't sound like a total idiot. Still, though, as her eyes took in his face, she had to mentally slap herself. He wasn't that great. In fact, she didn't even know him. What if he had some huge personality flaw? Yes, that would be his one problem, she decided. This little decision made her feel less intimidated and she was able to resist what was probably supposed to be a charming smile. Or something.

Had they met before? Surely, she would remember him. But, no, they hadn't. Gabrielle was good at remembering faces and names. She shook her head (and had to brush a few stray locks of hair out of her eyes) before looking at him.
"No," she answered after a moment.
What else could she say? 'I would've remembered meeting you?' As. If.
"We haven't."

[princemarcus]

Marcus watched curiously as the girl neatly put all her things into a pile. Everything she did was graceful, even the most mundane activities. The objects almost seemed to be smiling as she put them in their place, as if they were thanking her for getting everything in order. As she pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, Marcus couldn't help but stare into them. They were such a beautiful blue. Much darker than his, and much deeper. He could see the thoughts swirling inside her head through those eyes. They were meant to be together, he knew it. Or so he thought, right up until she said:

"No, we haven't."

Ouch. Not even a "I don't remember you, but maybe?" or a "No, but you remind me of my good friend Elijah who just passed away so stay here and comfort me?" Jeez. She must really not be into him. There goes trusting your gut feelings.

Marcus unfolded his hands and sighed. He knew it was too good to be true. He usually wasn't that bad with first impressions, but she was way out of his league. And he always knew that, deep down. He knew he was setting himself up for failure.

Marcus stood up and pushed his chair in. He tried to look as unfased by her words as possible as he said, "Well, I guess I'll see you around?"

He ignored her gaze, he didn't even want to see what she was thinking of him. He turned around and walked back to his table, picking his enormous biology book off the ground. He stuffed it in his bag and started to walk away. Way to mess that one up.

[danyisdarling]

Ah! What had she done?! That was the complete opposite of what she wanted! How could she be such a bitch?! Before she could even open her mouth to say something, he was walking away. Stuttering like an idiot, again, she bit her bottom lip to keep the not even formed words from leaving her mouth. Gabrielle stood and half-followed him before realizing she'd left her stuff. Dashing back to the table and stuffing all of her papers into her bag, she shoved the Zune into her pocket before turning back in his direction. Her hair was tangled now and all the loose locks of hair were basically blocking her vision. Frustrated, she pushed them away and finally found the boy already walking away.

She power-walked after him at first but realized this was no good. He was tall. Much, much taller than her. Thanks to that, he had longer strides than hers. Because she was short. This was when she picked up her pace, almost jogging to catch up. Finally, just a few feet from him, she stopped and called out, "wait!" Her cheeks had turned the pink color again because she was, one, tired (running wasn't her forte). Two, she'd basically chased after this guy. In the food court. She probably looked incredibly desperate.

Catching up to him, she grabbed his wrist and looked up at him. Her gaze was almost fierce. Determined. "I didn't--" she paused, at a loss for words. His eyes were distracting. "I didn't mean..." she looked down, shook her head. The next words were almost quiet but he had to hear her since she'd looked back up at him. "I'm Gabrielle."

[princemarcus]

Marcus took off and didn't look back. He was caught up with all the thoughts that were running through his head. Why had he done that? He should have just kept to himself. He was always doing the risky thing, and it never worked out. He should have known better. He was always messing things up like that. And she was so out of his league, too! It was a stupid idea. Really, really, stupid. The angrier he got at himself, the faster he walked. He didn't even notice he was walking so fast until he heard a voice behind him.

Right as Marcus turned around, he felt a hand grab his wrist. It was her. Jesus Christ, it was her.

Her hair was blown around her face from running, and she was bright red, but she was still beautiful. He realized she was much shorter than him, but it was a cute shortness. And as she looked at Marcus with the most amazing intensity in her eyes, he could almost sense everything she was feeling. He looked at her in disbelief as she quietly stuttered out some words, and only ended up catching her name. Gabrielle. Such an elegant name fit such an elegant girl.

"Gabrielle. That's a beautiful name. I'm Marcus, Marcus Taylor."

He finally got a grasp of the situation after a few moments. She had run after him! She, this amazing and beautiful girl, had run after him, Marcus Taylor, an average guy. What the hell was going on here? Must be his lucky day.

[danyisdarling]

Marcus Taylor. Marcus Taylor. She committed the name to memory, his face, his name. Him. God, he was perfect. How could somebody like him even spend their time talking to her? Gabrielle Taylor. Oh jeez, what was she doing thinking things like that? Realizing that she still had his wrist, she let go suddenly and stepped back. Her name was beautiful? If her cheeks weren't scarlet by now, she would be surprised. What was she going to say now? Glancing around, then at her feet, and finally back up at him. He was so tall. Tall guys were so hot.

She dragged her free hand through her hair, trying to brush it. It was a total mess now. Her bag was starting to slip off of her shoulder as was one sleeve of her jacket. She probably looked like a total mess in general.

"Marcus," she repeated, finally talking. "It's nice to meet you," she held out her hand for him to shake, putting on her brightest, prettiest smile. If he was going to talk to her, she might as well make it worthwhile. He could be bored of her in no time. And she wanted to keep talking to him.

Gabrielle was thankful that she no longer lived with her Aunts (and guilty at that thought). They'd always been rather suffocating with their curfews and constant reminders of when to be home. They were always so worried about her meeting strangers or something. It was tiresome to repeatedly tell them that she could take care of herself. Now, though, she lived at the school and didn't need to be home at 3pm. Thank God.

[princemarcus]

"Nice to meet you too. I'm sorry about the um...misunderstanding." Marcus smirked and gave out a small laugh. She finally let go of his wrist, and he let out a small sigh. It had felt nice. Really nice. Oh jeez, he was in way over his head.

He couldn't stop looking at her. She was too much like a picture. Even frazzled, she still had that composed air about her, like she was a porcelain doll. She was even prettier when she smiled, if that was even possible. As she held out her hand, he subconsciously grinned as he took it. Her hand was so small, and fit into his perfectly. He didn't want to let go. So he just...kept it there. As awkward as that was.

"So, do you go to Baum?" Marcus asked, watching her carefully. She looked slightly disoriented, like she wasn't really sure what was going on. Even so, he loved everything about her: the way her hair looked like gold, the way her jeans hung on her hips, the way her tiny feet were slightly pointed even when she was standing still. And he really needed to stop this. It was getting ridiculous. He was a 17 year old guy! He wasn't supposed to be smitten! It was basically a rule! This was supposed to happen to him when he was like....30.

Marcus laughed to himself at the thought. The whole situation was kind of unusual, actually. He had never felt this...vulnerable before. This one person held his future in her hands. In her tiny, beautiful, amazing, perfect hands.

[danyisdarling]

Gabrielle smiled and gave a tiny shrug. "No, don't be, it was totally my fault," she insisted, sounding apologetic. She'd been the one who'd sounded like a snob. Really, 'no, we haven't'? It'd been so... stand-offish. He'd had every right to walk away. Even if him walking away had terrified her. Just the thought of never seeing him again was just... frightening.

He took her hand in his and she almost wasn't surprised at how perfect it was. What about him wasn't? They shook and when she realized he wasn't letting go, she was fine with that. That was okay. That was fine, fine with her. Because why would she not want to hold his hand? Okay, wait. Her subconscious was telling her to calm down. That she barely knew Marcus and she should not be falling this head over heels. 'Oh, hush,' she answered, indignantly.

Baum? Ohmygod, did he go to Baum? How had she never seen him around? Well, this was her first time actually living at the school. Maybe she just wasn't as lucky back then. "I'm a Sophomore," she replied, with a sort of nod. "And you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows and leaning forward just a bit. What? It was her... question pose. (Okay, not really, but whatever!) Just the way she'd said this one question, though, was almost... she sounded so curious. Like she was really, really hoping he did. That could be embarrassing.

[princemarcus]

"It wasn't your fault! Don't blame it on yourself. It was just a...miscommunication," Marcus replied while silently laughing. Her apology was too adorable. And as bad as it was, Marcus was almost...excited that she thought it was her fault. She blamed herself enough to run after him. And that was where everything started, wasn't it?

She wasn't letting go of his hand either. Marcus tried to ignore the awkwardness. After all, they had just introduced themselves. And now they were holding hands? Not that Marcus minded it. Holding her hand was incredible. Looking into her eyes was incredible. Everything about her was so insanely incredible.

"I'm a Junior. Surprised I haven't seen you around, actually. It's a pretty small school, isn't it?" Marcus asked, eyebrows furrowing in slight confusion. It was a very small school. He should have seen her around the dorms, at least. Perhaps she was new? He knew for a fact that he hadn't seen her before, he would have remembered her.

Wait. All of a sudden she was leaning forward. Oh my god. He normally didn't make a move this early, but apparently she was up for it. Which was all fine and dandy with him, it was just...unusual. He hadn't read her as that type of girl. But hey...whatever she wanted, right?

So he leaned right back in and kissed her.

[danyisdarling]

Miscommunication? He wasn't letting her take the blame. Something about this totally cheered her up and whatever smile she had on now probably increased by ten. So far, he seemed really sweet. Even if some little voice was telling her to let go of his hand and to CALM. THE. HECK. DOWN.

Pushing the voice away, Gabrielle almost mimicked his facial expression. It was a small school. Why hadn't she seen him before?! This almost made her mad, that she'd been here two years and was just now meeting him. It almost seemed unfair. He was a junior, though. At least there wasn't some extreme age difference. He seemed to tall for a junior. But what was wrong with tallness? Nothing. It. Was. Perfect.

That little voice started to scream at her. He'd kissed her. He'd leaned forward and kissed her. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. And as much as she wanted to stay like that forever, she pulled back and yanked her hand out of his. This had to be the worst rejection of them all, but her subconscious had won in this battle. She did barely know him and that was the last thing she'd expected. Or even given a sign of. What part of her had said 'kiss me!'? No part, that she knew of.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered, "I just... it's... we just met," she finally managed. Never had she felt like such a horrible, horrible person. This was the second time she'd been the worst she could be in one day. Never had Gabrielle felt so, so terrible. Every part of her wanted to apologize and every part wanted to just grab him and kiss him. Every part wanted to cry, every part wanted to dance. It was so confusing and overwhelming, she almost turned heel and ran right then. He had to know, though, that she didn't want him to hate her. That she didn't hate him. He had to know that.

"God, I'm sorry, I'm being such a bitch right now!" Gabrielle moaned, almost to herself, before burying her face into her hands. She couldn't cry, not here. Not now.

[princemarcus]

Marcus couldn't even describe in words what it felt like to kiss her. It was....perfect. Unbelievably, amazingly, incredibly perfect. And even though it was short, Marcus never wanted to pull away. And he probably never would have, if she hadn't stopped him.

She pulled away from him almost instantly, and Marcus immediately regretted kissing her after he saw the look on her face. Dear god, he had to be the king of misunderstanding today. He should have gotten some award or something. What the hell was he even thinking? Who kisses someone five minutes after they introduce themselves? What an asshole move. She was going to hate him. He had ruined it...again. God damn it!

"No, no....I'm sorry...I just thought...never mind." Marcus stammered out. He turned away from her as he mentally slapped himself in the face. He was such an idiot. When he turned back to look at her again, she was....crying? Oh no. That was the last thing he wanted her to do! He started to lift his arms to hug her, but immediately put them back down. That was most likely not what she wanted right now. What she probably wanted was for him to go away. But he wasn't going to leave her again. Not while she was so upset! Even if he was the one who was making her upset. He was going to fix this.

[danyisdarling]

It'd taken her a few minutes. Soon, though, she'd managed to compose herself. Lowering her hands, she kept her gaze down for a few more minutes, trying to figure out what she'd say. Had she been giving all the wrong signals? Or was he just reading those signals wrong? For some reason, she wanted to take the blame. Today was just one of those days. Something was just all weird with her and she wasn't nearly as confident as usual. Or, maybe it was him. He was making her feel all stuttery. Plus, she had butterflies in her stomach. If that wasn't distracting, she didn't know what was.

There he went apologizing again. God, he was so cute. Such a sweetheart. Any other guy would've been all "what the hell?" But, no. Not Marcus. Marcus said sorry. Curling her hands into fists, she finally looked back up at him. Jeez, what was she going to say? No words were coming out. How embarrassing! She unclenched her hands and began to fidget with the end of her shirt. He was so cute. Glancing past him and towards the doors leading outside, Gabrielle bit her bottom lip. Okay, they'd go somewhere. They'd leave the food court where all of these misunderstandings were happening. Hot Cocoa sounded so good right now.

"Wanna go to Starbucks?"

(let's just assume there's one in the mall
like at my mall. there's one in the barnes
and noble. kay? xD)