* fully a l i v e

[stephanie hale]

Stephanie hated debates. She was a peaceful person, never one to argue. But, it seemed that her teacher hadn't learned that. He made another fellow student and Stephanie debate, and the outcome wasn't so good. She was tiny, barely 5 feet, yet he had the nerve to say that her voice was too squeaky, too soft. What was Stephanie supposed to do about that? It wasn't like she did it on purpose; It was just her voice. Tiny, squeaky Steph. That was who she was. So, after class, Stephanie walked into the large, over-crowded cafeteria and sat at a table in the corner. She didn't have many friends, other than her twin sister, Sarah, and she was never around. So, of course, Stephanie's face turned into an involuntary pout. It happened when she was upset. Stephanie had never felt so alone. Maybe she was too attached for Sarah. Maybe she was just too shy for her own good. Whatever it was, she didn't quite like Dayton Academy. Too many people, yet so lonely.

At her old school, she would've gotten some weird looks if she walked into the cafeteria and sat down without getting lunch. Here at Dayton, she looked just like everyone else. No one even attempted to digest that disgusting slop the school called food. The whole cafeteria reeked of frozen burritoes and greasy burnt pizza. The smell sickened Stephanie. Apparently she was wasn't the only one, considereing the lunch line consisted of six people. Stephanie felt out of the loop; Everyone was talking to someone else, and sitting at a table packed with people. Lunch wasn't really the time to eat. It was forty-five minutes dedicated to socializing. Stephanie would've liked that very much, had anyone bothered to talk to her. So, she reached into her pink Jansport and pulled out her History binder and textbook. She had a lot of homework to catch up on.

What fun.

[cory johnson.]

Cory sat uneasily in his chair. He didn't want to listen to his teacher rant and rave about how horrible his class was when he was on vacation. Well, I guess that was the last time they would have a sub in this class this year... Cory, of course being the sarcastic jerk-off he was, was the ring leader of that whole shananigan. The teacher just gave him dirty looks the whole time as he explained how they were in high school and they didn't need to act like that. Cory want to raise his hand and remind him that they still weren't eighteen, but that wasn't a good enough comeback at all. It could have been worse, they could be acting like freshmen. Cory smirked as the teacher went on about what had happened. He brought up random things that had happened while he was away. Cory wanted to laugh, but he refrained. It was almost time for lunch, only two more seconds and, it rings. Cory jumped out of his chair, but was stopped by his teachers irritating voice, "Mr. Johnson, I suppose I will see you in detention today, is that correct?" Cory smirked again, he set himself up for this one, "Nah, I was thinking maybe..." He pulled out his phone, acting like he was checking his calender, "The fourth friday in may two years from now. I think I could squeeze you in between 4AM and 4:10AM," Cory glanced at his teacher waiting for a response. "Today, Mr. Johnson, at 3:00 to 5:00. Watch that smart mouth of yours or it'll be for the rest of the year," Cory rolled his eyes and did an impression of a terrified boy, "Oh, oh! Please Misteww, not detention. I'm not suwe if I can handle it." He rolled his eyes again and walked out, he could hear his teacher mumble something but he didn't catch exactly what it was.

Cory didn't care about detention, so what? He'd sleep. What was that guy going to do? Exactly, nothing. Cory knew that his friends were probably wondering where he was at this point. God knows what they would do without him leading them. He sighed quietly as he found them sitting in the exact spot he would find them if he came in at the right time. Cory walked over to his table, he didn't say a thing, he just sat down. It didn't hit him until just now that he had to go to detention for two whole hours until just now. His friends left him alone, they knew when he was in a bad mood they shouldn't bother him. Cory stared down at the table, he was a sarcastic asshole. How was it then that all the girls loved him? Not even Cory could understand that. He sighed again and glanced around the room. His eyes scanned the lunchroom for anyone interesting to talk to. Anyone but these friends of his. He paused at a girl alone, she seemed fimilar... Who was she? He stood up, staring at her for a few moments. Was that? No.. Maybe it was. He walked over to the table, he knew he was probably going to aggrevate her by interupting her studies but hey, he was Cory. "Stephanie?" He began, "It's Cory, from the school chat?"

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[rosalie parker]

Stephanie lifted her head from the book. She had literally stuck her nose in the book. Stephanie thought it made her concentrate better, although it really just made the text writing fuzzy and unfocused. Her eyes switched to the boy now sitting next to her. Stephanie smiled. She did remember, very well. He was too cute and charming to forget.

"Hey, Cory," she said, still smiling. "Yeah, I remember you." Stephanie shut her binder and and textbook, sighing. She hadn't really been paying attention, anyways. It was funny how her teacher always talked about her class leading up to the present. As far as Stephanie was concerned, they were still stuck on the 1800's. Pushing her pencil away, and slipping it into the bottom of her binder, Stephanie turned slightly in her chair to face Cory.

"So... what're you doing here?" she asked, mentally smacking herself. What is he doing here? Uh, getting something to eat, maybe? Duh. Stephanie was kind of surprising herself. She never got nervous with boys, nor did she worry about saying something stupid. Saying ditzy things were part of her everyday life. But would he really be here to get something to eat? Or was he here fishing for girls? Stephanie had done a little snooping around since she talked to Cory.

Well, really, she'd just asked Sarah what Cory was like. She simply said that he was a total player, and not the most honest guy. But, Sarah whirled around when Stephanie was about to leave. She eyed her twin suspiciously. "Don't you go after him," she said, a clear warning. "It will only be trouble, I promise you," she said sternly. All Stephanie did was nod, and walk away. She never argued with Sarah. She always won, so there was really no point.

Stephanie turned her attention back to Cory. She didn't want him to think she was ignoring him or something. Or arguing with herself.

[cory johnson.]

Cory glared at her for a few moments, she was a lot better looking in person than she was in that little icon they made them use for identity theft purposes. Cory studied her as she studied in her book, cute face with big brown eyes, she was obviously shy, which Cory found cute, and she was exceptionally tiny. Usually Cory was the guy to go for a girl a bit taller, and such but you just couldn't pass up a girl that looked like Stephanie. Since she was shy, this would be easier than expected. She only knew her sister practically here, or so it seemed, and she would be eager to meet people. Cory could introduce her, he'd never bargain with her though. She wouldn't have to know what was really going on in his mind, he would keep his thoughts to himself, and make up new ones as he went along. It would be easier than most girls came out to be. He sat down in th seat next to her, he was more than certain that this was Stephanie.

Stephanie glanced up with him, there was an awkward moment. You know when you have found the perfect car in the lot and it's just love at first sight? You feel so excited and just want to jump behind the wheel and drive off, but you're only fifteen and can't drive alone. That's how that felt. It was a different feeling for Cory, but he shrugged it off, he guessed it was that he was halfway expecting it to be someone else and he was nervous about that. He smiled, that player-like smile that no girl can resist. But this was Cory Johnson, he didn't need all those lines that he used so many times before, he had a cute face, he had a cute personality, and he was fun to be around. Why would he need all of that extra stuff? He learned from the best, his older brothers. He was happy to know that she actually remembered him, it would be kind of embarrassing if she didn't, he sighed in relief for that, but not loud enough to where she could hear it. "I'm glad I remember faces, it would've been super embarrassing if it wasn't you. Infact, I'm sure everyone in the room would be laughing at me right now, including you."

Cory was confused at her question. What was he doing here? Well, uhm, if he told the truth he'd say, "You're cute so I thought I'd mozy on over here and talk to you, you know butter you up see if I could get a stay-at-home date sometime later," But Cory was smart, and that probably wasn't a good thing. He smirked slightly, but only enough that it seemed adorable, not evil and scheming. "Well, I'm at school because my dad makes me come, believe me if it was up to me I'd be somewhere in California modeling for Calvin Klein. I'm at Dayton because I can't stand my step-mother, excuse my french but I believe she is the biggest bitch that satin could find to send to make me miserable. And misery loves company. I'm in the Cafeteria because, well that's where everyone else is, guess I'm a follower. I'm here talking to you because I think you're really pretty and I want to get to know you, I mean I want to get to know you as a friend to friend basis." Cory didn't want to just jump in, he knew the friend zone was bad, but please that's how you get in. If only stupid guys could figure that out, but thank goodness they can't. Cory flashed a smile at her, then returning her question, "So what's your story, what are you doing here?"

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[stephanie hale]

Stephanie was intrigued by Cory, and he really hadn't said anything interesting. She listened intently, of course, flushing when he said she was pretty. Why did he have to be so damn adorable? Finally he asked her what she was doing here. Where to begin...

"Well, originally my twin sister, Sarah, moved here, because she wanted to try something different," Stephanie said, sighing softly. The story was so long. Or at least it seemed like it, to her. "I wanted to stay back in Seattle, because I didn't want to have move, but when she left I was really sad," she said, nodding. "Sarah and I are very close, so it took me a couple months to realize that I missed her, and left," she said.

"But, Sarah is really involved at school, so she's always busy," Stephanie said, feeling a little depressed now. What happened to Sar-Bear and Stephy? "But, yeah... I don't like it so much. I mean, it's okay, but yeah..." Stephanie said, trailing off. She stretched her legs under the table. She stared at her black Converse low tops and dark wash skinny jeans. Had she known she was going to see Cory this morning, she might've looked nicer.

Her outfit wasn't bad or sloppy... Just a little casual. Black Converse, dark wash skinny jeans, and light pink, striped zipper hoodie over a white tanktop. Stephanie absent-mindedly ran her fingers through her straight, dark brown hair. This, thankfully, was neat. Stephanie was weird about her hair and always kept it clean and neat. She looked down at the table. She had no idea what to say, and was to shy to even try to start another conversation.

Despite her shyness, Stephanie was quite happy. She liked Cory a lot, even though she didn't know him very well. Sarah was so wrong. He was charming and sweet. How could she ever call him dishonest? How could she even think he was a player? The thought made Stephanie want to giggle. It was just so ridiculous.

[cory johnson.]

Cory listened attentively. He found her to be very interesting, she was thinking too much. He was told he was easy to talk to, but she seemed like she wasn't too sure of what to say to him. It was just a little cute, but what was he saying? She's just a girl, not his girlfriend. And she'd never be. We're talking about Cory Johnson, not some romantic sap who falls head over heels for any girl that actually speaks more then three words to him. Please, Cory could get pretty much anyone to tell him their life story in a matter of three seconds. He was skilled at that, he smiled at her, was it obvious that he knew what he was doing? Could she tell that he has done this before? Or could she see straight through his fake sweet concerned guy routine? He got a bit nervous at that, he couldn't though. He had to be confident, he couldn't let himself seem weak at all or this whole plan would be ruined. It was a very hard job to make a girl trust you, especially when you're known around the school as a player that no one wanted to get involved with. He sighed quietly, trying to calm his thoughts. There was no way that some girl was going to see right through him, no he was too good of an actor to let that happen.

Cory perked up, Sarah was her sister? He had heard the name before but he wasn't sure if he really just knew her from a party, or if it was something else. Had he hooked up with her? He hoped not, that would ruin his whole plan. But, it would be pretty hilarious if he hooked up with both of them. He laughed to himself, but caught himself drifting from the conversation. He snapped out of his trance and concentrated on what Stephanie was saying. He had three older brothers, but he hardly spoke of them because he felt bad when he left out Ben's name, because he died in Iraq. He still hadn't told anyone about, he didn't want anyone to pity him. His dad swears that is where Cory's behavior turned around. He began womanizing and going behind his dad's back. Sure, he acted up every now and then before when his mom died but it got worse after Ben's death. As far as everyone at Dayton was concerned, Cory was an only child and his mom died back when he was nine or so.

Cory smiled again as she continued, she was going on about how Sarah was very involved in school and such. What was this girl? Wonder Woman?! What the hell? She sounds like she isn't even human. Sounds like that kind of sister that you don't really want because she makes you seem like you're below average. That must suck. Cory was the one that made his brothers look bad, he was the smart one. The popular one. He was just about everything they weren't. Plus, they were sweethearts to girls while Cory could care less. "Your sister..." Cory began "Sounds like she isn't human, like she can do anything and do it all at the same time," he laughed. "But that's cool, you know that you guys are close and all." He smiled again, he wished he could be like that with his brothers but they were older than he was. "And I could introduce you to some people, you know. Some girls, so you have some more girl friends. And I'm always available for study dates," Cory smirked, if you know what he means.

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[stephanie hale]

Stephanie was startled. What Cory had said was so true. She'd always thought that about Sarah. Not in a bitter way, no way. Stephanie never could put it into words. But now she could. Sarah was like super twin. Stephanie sighed again. It must of been the hundreth time she'd sighed. "You don't have to," she said, a little flushed. She was probably much too shy to make many friends, anyways. Stephanie didn't fit in at Dayton at all. While most kids at school, if not all, had been to some crazy party, Stephanie hadn't even been to one. She'd never had beer. She'd never had drugs. Yeah, right. It would be so... Un-Stephanie like for her to have done any of those things.

She giggled at his last comment. She dectected no innuendo or hidden meaning in his words, like some one else might have. Stephanie simply thought the comment was cute and funny. When was Stephanie going to learn? Looks can be deceiving, and Cory was a perfect example. He seemed to be adorable and charming, but anyone with eyes and ears could see him for what he really was: a player. Not because his acting skills weren't great. No, those were perfect. But people could hear, and rumors were always running around Dayton. Stephanie was too naive to listen. She seemed to only see the good in people. That was going to turn on her one day, Sarah said she was sure, but Stephanie didn't see how.

[cory johnson.]

Cory wasn't exactly a player all the time, sometimes he was just being nice. He was being nice at this point, asking her if she would like him to introduce him to some people. Cory was like that sometimes, he was a sarcastic jerk sometimes though. But not to people he got a good vibe from. He wasn't sure if he wanted to play Stephanie, but he was like a tracker. Once he set his standard he couldn't stop, and he wouldn't stop. So what choice did he really have? None. "Come on, I promise that not everyone isn't a sarcastic, pessimistic, egotistic jerk like I am," Cory teased, "But seriously, I wouldn't want you off all alone in this school, there's some people you don't want to be caught up with," And she had already done one thing wrong, she was getting caught up with Cory. Well, he never said that he wasn't one of those people. Then again, he never said he was either. "Plus, it breaks my heart knowing that you're by yourself while I'm talking to my boring friends, but maybe I consider you lucky when I say it like that..."

His eyes sparkled in the light, most would say he was irresistable and others would automatically know he was too good to be true. Maybe he was really too good to be true. But Cory found himself wondering if he would ever be able to have a serious girlfriend like so many of his friends do. He got a little sad once in a while when he thought about it, but he knew that he was better off the way he was. Some girl wouldn't want all his baggage in a relationship. He'd be a lot of work, but sometimes he wondered through all the mist what would happen to him when he couldn't get whatever girl he pleased. What would become of him when he was a fifty year old dude hitting on twenty year old chicks. He sighed, and shook his head, trying to get the bad thoughts out of his head. He was hoping he didn't look too stupid infront of Stephanie, she might think he was a little weird the way he spun in and out of conversation, sometimes people could see when he had those moments where he wasn't really there, and sometimes people couldn't. I guess it depends on how observant you were.

Cory could tell that Stephanie didn't really know what he was saying. She was literally the moist clueless girl he had ever played with. But, for some odd reason, he found that irresistable. He couldn't tell you exactly why, but it was. "So, I asked around about you, and I'm going to tell you what I heard, and you tell me if it's right, okay?" He cleared his throat as if he was going to start a very important speech, just to make things funny, "This is what I've gathered about you. You're too nice sometimes, you love ballet, you're anything but a push-over, and you complain when you go to math class, is that all correct or do my sources decieve me?" Cory knew that making a girl think that you were so interested in her that you asked around about her makes her feel special, and it makes her think that you're "different" from the other guys. He smiled waiting for her to answer back, he knew that there was nothing left to do but reel it all in. "But I also heard that you're so nice that you can't say no, so I figured I'd try that theory out.... So maybe you'd like to go out on friday night, with .. me?" Perfect act, Cory, now wait. And don't seem uneager.

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[stephanie hale]

It was so sad that Stephanie was falling into Cory's trap. It was like dangling a shiny toy in front of a little kid.. It wasn't fair that Cory had so much control over the situation, and Stephanie had no idea. But, there was nothing that could be done. Stephanie didn't even know that Cory was just being a player. She didn't even have the slightest idea. "Yeah, your sources are right," she said, smiling. Maybe not so much about the push over thing, but that was a different story for a different day. But, then Stephanie froze. A date? With him? On Friday?

Stephanie wanted to jump and down and scream yes. But she controlled herself. She took a sharp breath and looked down. Stephanie was sure she would blush furiously if she looked up at him that very momsent. After half of a second, she lifted her head, smiling very sweetly. Very innocently. Not on purpose, just being norml and happy. It was hard to understand why Cory didn't feel bad playing this poor, innocent girl. But maybe it wasn't so difficult to understand. Cory was and would always be a player, a womanizer, and a jerk.

"Yes," she said, finally, still smiling. Stephanie had no idea what to say next. She was much too happy. Wait until I tell Sarah, she thought eagerly, but her eagerness quickly evaporated. Stephanie couldn't tell Sarah; She would make sure it didn't happen. For whatever reason, Sarah had the impression that Cory was a player. So, Stephanie decided to keep this to herself. There was no way she was going to let Sarah ruin this for her. She wasn't older. Stephanie was sixteen, she could do whatever she pleased.

[cory johnson.]

Cory laughed, he knew all of that was right because he had a friend in her math class. Well, at least he gathered some information from him, the other stuff he made up from talking to her. He figured out some stuff, Cory was a lot smarter than people knew, he was practically scary smart. He glanced down at the table, "Yeah, he said you were cute. But, if you ask me that's a total insult...." Cory was being sincere at this point, he glanced back up at her, "You're much more beautiful, but my friend's are all morons... You wouldn't get along with them, I have a hard time with it sometimes." He shrugged, glancing around the room again, and taking a long deep breath. Cory wondered if he made no sense to her at all, what if he was a bit too smart to interact with some people. He couldn't even be in a normal classroom with people until high school. He had to be in "gifted", it's even higher than honors... When you're the weird smart kid, you're not that popular. Plus when you're mom died then brother died a few years later, and your father married the bitchest woman on earth, it messes you up a little.

He was a bit nervous. Could Stephanie be the first girl to turn Cory down? He was suprised. He waited impatiently, what if he was turned down? He's never had to do anything about it before. What would he do? Ask why? Wonder if she was joking? Just get up and walk away? Oh no, what if she was turning the tables on him, what if she was playing him like a violin now?! No, this girl couldn't beat Cory Johnson at his own game. Cory was probably one of the best looking guys in this room, heck maybe he was the best looking in this room! There was no way in bloody hell, she'd never turn him down... Would she? No, was he seriously second guessing himself? Hah! Like he needed to do that. Please, we were talking about Kenneth Cory Johnson! The cutest player Shark known to Dayton Academy?

Cory glanced down, he was sure that she was about to turn him down. He opened his mouth, about to say something but was suddenly awakened from his nightmare by Stephanie's voice. He smiled as he stared back up at her, giving a small laugh. "I thought it was going to be awkward silence until I just walked away, I thought you were going to say 'No' for sure..." Cory laughed again, she would think he was laughing at the moment, trying to find the humor. But he was laughing because he knew that was plain impossible, the thought of her saying no, it plainly humored him. He was Mr. Sarcastic, anything of the sort that has to do with a girl saying that word to Cory, it was just funny. It has never happened. I guess it was easy to say that Cory was just charming. The Charming Ice Prince...

Cory's head popped up a little more when the bell rang, had he really spent so much time in his teacher's classroom before he came here? No, there's no way... He glanced at Stephanie, he could at least be somewhat of a gentleman, she didn't know many people... He could honestly say that he had never walked a girl to his class but he felt a bit remorse for Stephanie, but it was too late to turn around now. He smiled sweetly at her, "Where's your class? I'll walk you to it," He stood up and kept his eyes on her. This was the gentleman, however that would all be gone on friday. He put his hand out, for her to take it, still smiling that manipulative smile. "You can tell me what you would like to do on friday, too," He suggested as he stood right where he had been standing for a few seconds.

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[stephanie hale]

Stephanie laughed. Like she would be able to turn him down. The thought was ridiculous. She stood up, bending down to grab her bookbag. She grabbed her textbook and binder off the table. "I wouldn't have turned you down. I have a problem with saying no, remember?" Stephanie said, smiling as she stood next to him. He was such a gentlemen. How did he not have a girlfriend? Stephanie sighed. "You don't have to walk me to class, you probably have better things to do," Stephanie said, looking up at him. "I'm not exactly sure what I want to do on Friday," said Stephanie, tilting her head to one side. She'd never even thought about what they would do on Friday night. "Why don't you give me an idea about what you want to do?" she said, shifting her books to her right hand.

Stephanie was once again speechless. Why was it that she had nothing to say? Was she really that boring? Suddenly, Stephanie went into shock. She was going out this Friday. With Cory. On a date. If she couldn't create conversation with him when they were simply talking small talk, how we she create conversation when they were out together? Stephanie would have to think about this some other time. When she wouldn't be with Cory. Stephanie was known for tripping over her own feet when she was thinking. If she did that in front of Cory, she'd be mortified and die of humilation. Her eyes switched from the ground to Cory, as if silently asking him to start another conversation for her. Why, oh why was she so pathetic and unsuspecting?

Stephanie twirled a piece of dark hair around her finger. She wanted nothing more than to skip class and sleep until Friday. She obviously couldn't do either of those things; She was too scared of getting caught. She'd never even gotten detention before, it hadn't ever crossed her mind to skip unless it was for a really good reason. Skipping because she was eager and excited about this upcoming Friday was definitley not a good reason. History was her next class, and she hadn't even finished her homework, because Cory had come up and talked to her. What could she say? He had distracted her, but didn't really even care.

[cory johnson.]

Cory laughed lightly, he didn't really know that. In all honesty, he really could have guessed all those things just from talking to her for two minutes. It was obvious that she was a sweet and innocent human being, and that was that. As she stood up, he noticed she didn't take her hand and he embarrassedly pulled it away as if it was only stretching it. He could only imagine if he was blushing right now, what if he was? That was almost like getting denied. He could hear his friends laughing, snickering and giggling in the background. He turned his head, narrowing his eyes and giving a snarl-less glance at them. He snapped his attention back over to Stephanie, who was obviously still talking. Apparently she had no idea she had been talking basically to herself in that second. He bit his lip, then smiling innocently before he began, "Nah, I want to. It's the least I could do, you know since I bored you through your whole lunch period."

He glanced down at her binder and book, he pulled it from her hand and smiled at her, "I can carry them for you, again, I bored you. It's the least I can do," Cory teased her lightly, he was sure she liked the company since she was kind of the new girl. He sighed as he began to walk, following her stride. Cory had to be careful, girls often times complained that he walked too fast. He wanted to slap himself in that moment though. Did he look whipped right now? Carrying books? Talking to a girl through the whole lunch? Ignoring the guys? Walking a girl to class?! Well, I'm sure everyone was just seeing the exact same thing, he would play her just like the others. She was no different than the others, but in reality, Cory knew something that they didn't. That she was different from the others, the only similiarity of them all was she was going to get played regaurdless.

Cory smiled, "Uh, well I love Great White, but that's not a good place for a date; it's too loud there. The mall's over-rated. Mikey's Bar, but what kind of date is that, right?! Then there's the courts but I don't want to take you somewhere where there's half naked guys running around playing ball, I might get jealous and have to jump in. I'd make a complete jerk of myself, that's a big no until the third date..." Cory went through the possibilities, but for some reason nothing looked very heartwarming. Then it came to him, he smirked and glanced down at her, "But I have an idea. It's a surprise though, you'll love it though, at least I hope you do..."

[ooc; for gossip girl: cory got denied for steph to take his hand, and he's carrying his books for her. that's another thing people would have seen and thought was weird.

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[stephanie hale]

"I'm sure I'll like it," said Stephanie, smiling. How sweet of him to carry my stuff, thought Stephanie. "You don't bore me, by the way," she said, laughing a little. "You're much more interesting than my history homework," Stephanie said nodding. It was true; Stephanie disliked her history class very much, and only tried to do better because of her teacher, who was a lot nicer to her than other teachers were.

"Although, I think anyone could be more interesting than history homework," she mused, almost absent-mindedly. "But, still, you're really interesting," she said as if she was afraid she had insulted him in someway. "But, I have met some pretty boring people, so maybe that's why I think you're so interesting," Stephanie joked, although it was half true. All the people she had met were so dull and unoriginal; They all did the same things in Stephanie's eyes.

Stephanie was basically talking to herself now. She did it quite a bit, but she had been hoping it wouldn't happen in front of Cory. Stephanie was afraid she would sound stupid, and while she didn't sound dumb, she did sound a bit absent-minded and ditzy. Sure, she technically was absent minded, but she was smart, too. Stephanie would much rather show her smart side than her "blonde" side, as some people called it.

She decided to not think about that, though; She would probably start thinking about why people called clueless moments blonde moments, and why she seemed to have so many of them. If she got distracted thinking about something as stupid as that, sh'ed probably end up tripping. Stephanie tripped on a daily basis, but in front of people, especially Cory, was different. Much more humiliating.

[cory johnson.]

Cory laughed, "I hope you do, for my sake..." Cory shrugged as he continued, "I'd hate to be the guy that you and your girlfriends laugh at and deem 'the worst date ever'." He glared down and smiled sheepishly. There was something about her that made her very easy to talk to. Maybe Cory was used to just jumping into conversations, he was used to people telling him their life story right away but he was not used to being so open to others in that same way. Maybe he was a people person, or maybe it was his charm. He was the type that most people liked, for the most part. He tried to be cool with people but sometimes those feelings had a mind of their own. Cory was obviously not the most popular guy around, for the mere fact that he was a player. But what was really up with that? People may never know. He didn't think he was changed because of anything, but the shrinks had other opinions. And his father, mostly his father. Yes, Cory had changed, but he has always been good with girls. But he's never met the girl he'd ever want to ask to be his girl. The first one would probably also be the last.

Cory noticed that Stephanie babbled on a lot, she kept saying that Cory wasn't boring. Cory isn't boring. Boring isn't what Cory is. Cory being boring is impossible, in every way you could say that she was using it. He wanted to laugh, but he held back from it. He listened carefully to her, he wondered who she had for history that gave homework. "Do you have Mrs. Olsen? I have her, she never really gives homework..." He was confused, well either she never gave homework or he really was never listening. He was known to do that, maybe he really did have ADD, but he was gifted so it probably was ADD. With his luck it was something way worse than that, yes, Cory and his bad luck. If it wasn't for bad luck, he would have no luck at all.

Cory laughed again as she started with the 'you're not boring, Cory' stuff again. "You babble a lot, Stephanie. It's funny. Pretty cute, too." He giggled continuously. He really didn't find it annoying. "I hope I am more interesting than history homework, but at least I can count on being more interesting that math homework. I mean, I'm hoping I am. If I'm not I've got a lot to worry about." He flashed his beautiful, white smile again. Cory was one of those guys where you stopped, marveled then had to ask yourself, "how?" How was it that there was someone like this?! Tall, Dark, and Handsome. The every-woman dream. He was dark-skinned, with deep brown eyes that sparkled in any ray of light, and he was tall enough, but keep in mind that this boy was still growing. "Before I forget, since you did agree that you don't like math... Don't make fun of me, I admit that I'm a math nerd but don't make me feel too badly..." He sighed, "I'm in senior math, meaning I'm in calculus this year... I am going to take college courses in math and science next year, so I already know how to do all the stuff you're doing in math. If you ever need some help, I'm here..." He smiled shyly, he was smart, sometimes it was hard to admit that. It wasn't like "he's smart" it was like, "Damn, that boy's a genius." It's always been that way though.

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[stephanie hale]

“A math nerd? Really?” asked Stephanie, clearly surprised. “Wow, that’s… weird.” Stephanie said, her head tilted to the side. Stephanie remained silent for a few seconds. She suddenly realized she may have sounded like she was saying Cory was stupid. “Not that I thought you were stupid,” she said quickly. “But I didn’t think you liked math. I don’t know many people who do like it,” Stephanie said. “But, I guess its okay,” she said, smiling. “I could use help in math,” Stephanie said.
She sighed dramatically.

“Yeah, I’m trying to stop, but it’s so hard!” Stephanie said, sounding very exasperated. “Oh, well!” she said, suddenly perkier. It was difficult to keep up with Stephanie sometimes, seeing as she went from very sad to very happy in a quick amount of time. But, she was very happy right now, although unusually tired. Maybe it was a sign of eagerness, or maybe anxiousness. It probably is, Stephanie thought, stifling a yawn. She had slept much the last few days, and she doubted that she would have a peaceful night later on in the day.

Stephanie’s eyes scanned the campus. Not many people were wandering around, and she wondered if she would be late to class. Oh, well, I don’t mind, she thought. History was so boring, and Cory… wasn’t. As she had said before, anything was more interesting than History, or any of her classes for that matter, but he was so different. Cory didn’t seem like all those other people that she’d had the misfortune to meet. He was so sweet ad funny. And charming, a little voice in Stephanie’s head chimed.

“So, are you good at anything else I don’t know about?” Stephanie asked, half teasing, half serious. She was very, very curious about Cory, and she couldn’t help her curiosity. Anyone would’ve been curious, Stephanie was positive, but maybe she was too curious. After all, curiosity killed the cat, and in this case, Stephanie was definitely the cat. She knew that she thought Cory was good looking and sweet, but Stephanie wasn’t sure if she liked him for real. Maybe it was just one of those crushes you got on celebrities. But Stephanie had a feeling it was very much different.

She waited for Cory’s answer very patiently. Was she just being nosy? Would he mind? Was Cory going to get angry and think she was poking and prodding him too much? Stephanie didn’t think he would get mad, but she’d only just met him thirty or forty something minutes ago. Stephanie still hadn’t learned his personality very well, and although he seemed like a sweet, charming boy, so very different from all the other boys at Dayton. She peeked at Cory from the corner of her eyes, although it was a bit difficult since he was quite a bit taller than her. Her eyes felt strained from rolling them upwards, trying to get a glimpse at him. Stephanie simply stared down, a little nervous.