e70LuMUK4gc ♥ [closed]

It'd been a really fucking long day.

Or at least, it sure as hell felt like it. His family had always been big on celebrations, his dear mother most of all. Whilst he would've happily taken his birthday as an excuse to shamelessly binge on junk food and video games with zero interruption, she thought it a wonderful idea to stay in their home in Rosebury with all his siblings, blast the loudest, most cheesy music imaginable, and be forced to eat cardboard, week-old supermarket discount cake. The dessert-deal probably being the worst thing of it all in his opinion. It wasn't that he minded being around his folks, or even the little kids, but damn - Mrs. Andrews loved to go all out on her home parties. If she wanted to make him feel six again, she accomplished her goal.

But he wasn't six. He was eighteen now. Christ, he was an old fucking man.

Preston shoved his hands in his pockets, walking through the common room of the dorms, heading towards the general direction of his room. 'Damn, does a beer sound good right now,' he thought, letting himself just long enough to fuck him. He blindly turned a corner into a long call, crashing into another person, thankfully not too badly. "Shit, sorry -" The words came jumbled quickly before he'd fully realized what had happen, taking a few awkward steps back and doing his best not to tumble.

Unfortunately for Jane, she was a skinny little thing, so when Preston had come rounding the corner—...

"Oof!"

... She almost went flailing, right onto her ass. Thankfully, she was able to keep her feet, just barely, stumbling backwards and grabbing at a wall. It was a bit of a dramatic gesture from a little bump, but really, falling backwards onto that hard residence hall floor would've been more embarrassing. Jane just grinned, regaining her composure and standing up straight. "Hey, hey," she said in a mock scolding tone that didn't hold a grudge, making a show of dusting off her camisole before looking up to meet her oh-so-rude stranger in the eyes.

Aha, what a catch.

He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place his face to a name, or quite remember where she recognized him from. Oh well. She wouldn't mind a reintroduction. Jane pursed her lips. "Now that's not very gentlemanly. Bumping into someone and swearing in front of a lady. I think I need an apology right this instant." Hopefully he wasn't in a hurry. "Lucky for you, nothing's broken too bad, but I hope you learned your lesson."

It'd taken him a bit longer to recover than he was willing to ever admit, letting out a silent groan and stretching his neck out. At first, this girl had barely gotten his attention at all. He'd expected it to be like most run ins. Maybe a few dirty curses, or a sharp glare, or a swift pardon me and they'd both be on their way. Instead, what he got when he'd looked forward again, was quite the sight for sore eyes. A young woman with honey-like hair and eyes, a sweet hourglass shape and a charming smile to boot. Preston all-too quickly dismissed any illness he had towards the situation.

He straightened up and put on his best smile. "Damn. Pardon me, Miss." He said routinely, leaning ever-so slightly against the wall. It was becoming quickly obvious she knew what she was doing, it was a game he played, and he tried his best to make sure not to fall right into her hands. "Sorry, I'm not a perfect gentlemen." Lucky for him, huh? So far, it really did seem like his lucky day. "I believe I'll need to find some way to make it up to you."

She let out an exaggerated sigh, letting that hint of a smile linger at the corner of her lips. "My, my, my, men these days." Not that he'd ever struck her as Prince Charming. Perfect gentlemen were boring. He looked more like a dashing rogue, but who was she to judge at first glance, right? It was a nice first glance, though. Chestnut hair, sea green eyes, with an easy confidence to him in every word and movement. The kind of guy that could make a girl breathless and dizzy as easily as he could make her feel comfortable. Jane recognized the type. She made a show of contemplation, tilting her head ever so slightly. "Hmm. You could make it up to me with your name, for a start," she said after a moment.

The Autumn let out a silent chuckle, glancing her up and down, trying to place that face to a vague memory. The longer the two of them stood together, the more he could've sworn that they'd seen each other before, but he couldn't seem to put two and two together in that moment. It probably didn't matter much anyways. "That doesn't seem too bad, for a start..." he repeated, mild curiosity feigned on his face. His crooked grin grew a bit as he held out a lazy hand for her. "Preston Andrews. Will I get the pleasure of knowing your name too?" Or would he have to work for that as well? Either way, it seemed he could say goodbye to his dull afternoon.

Preston, huh? Preston, Preston, Preston... It didn't ring a bell, but it had a nice sound to it. "Should I tell you? I'm not sure if you will get the pleasure, after all the trouble you put me through." Jane gave another exaggerated sigh and uncrossed her arms. "But I guess leniency is the sign of a good woman, right?" She reached out and clasped his hand, giving a slight mock bow. Light, but firm. Jane stared up at him with upturned eyes. "My name's Jane Grey, like the queen. Don't consider yourself quite forgiven yet though, Preston."

Oh yeah, what innumerable fucking he'd damage he'd done, bumping into her like that, he thought to himself in amusement. "Hope I'm not keeping you from anything important then," he mused, catching her gaze as she curtsied before him. Her name was short and sweet, he thought, simple enough to remember. "I've got all the time the world right now to get your pardon," Preston mused, gentling pulling her back up straight again, taking a step forward meanwhile to help close a lot of the distance between them. "Try me, Jane Grey."

Hey, that was good. She would've hated for this all-too-unfortunate chance meeting to get cut short, as rude and considerate as it was. Coughcough. Ahem. Jane straightened up, slow to release Preston's hand. "That's good to hear. I can't let you off the hook just yet." She grinned at him. "As it happens, I've got the whole day free. I could use a bit of entertainment." There were worse things he could be put through. "So there's your punishment, Mr. Andrews. Show me around and I might just forgive you. Just make sure I have a good time or I'll have to up the penalty, alright?"

Preston stood up a little straighter, shoving his hands back in his pocket once they were free, looking seemingly thoughtful for a few moment. "Way to lay on the pressure, Deary." He mused before a small crooked smile flashed her away again. "Don't suppose you'd give away any more mercy past this? Not even for a man's birthday?" Even as he stalled for words, he was planning out the rest of the evening in his head. He'd had plans to go straight back to his room, but he didn't mind flexing his schedule for this.

Oh? That made things a hundred times more interesting. Jane's face brightened up in surprise, her smile spreading. "A birthday boy, really?" she repeated. She pursed her lips, half turning. "Man, way to make me feel guilty. Here I've been standing around chastising someone on their special day. And I gave him such a harsh punishment too." Jane brushed her hair over her shoulder, eyes upturned to the ceiling as if in thought before turning back to him. "You should never forget your manners, but maybe I could cut you a little slack."

She paused. "No plans today? On your birthday? That's what you said, right? That's just sad. I might just tear up. First you bump into me, then you make me cry. This is very ungentlemanly of you." Jane mockingly wiped a finger over her eye. "It's so pitiful that now I don't have any choice but to take you out and pamper you. You only get one day a year to get spoiled, and you can't waste it wandering around the halls being a delinquent." Even if she was joking around, speaking at a million words a minute, it still struck her as odd. Young, hot guy like him, no party, no friends, not on his way anywhere important on his birthday? That was a travesty. A sin. Killing time was already a crime, but on your birthday? It should be the most eventful day of the year.

Jane stepped forward and offered her hand in another elaborate mock curtsy. "Just count yourself lucky you managed to turn this around. I never make a day forgettable."

Damn, this chick had one hell of a motor mouth, but at least get sense of humor was enough to make him smile on its own. "So sorry to have to drag you into this lame-ass situation; being bumped into and having to join my in my pity party. You're simply quite the angel, aren't you?" Preston mused. Internally, the fireworks of victory were already going off in his head. He sighed mockingly, taking her hand again as she bowed prestigiously before him. This time, however, the Autumn dared to bring her hand up to his lips, leaving a ghost of a kiss across her skin almost teasingly, shooting her another grin afterwords. If she was so keen on her role of lady, he could try to somewhat step up his gentlemen game. "And what exactly is your idea of the perfect day?" He asked, wondering aloud.

Jane just smiled, not breaking her stare even as he brushed his lips across her fingers. "I am an angel. Thanks for noticing." She straightened up, still clasping his hand, and nimbly moved to Preston's side, entangling her arm in his. Now he was trapped, even if he didn't realize it yet. A part of her figured he wouldn't mind. Jane walked forward to drag him along, not shy about their close contact. "A perfect day is just a day that's better than yesterday. Every time you see someone, that should be the best day of their life, or they're not living right. New experiences. Risks. I don't like being bored, and I don't like seeing people be boring." She looked up at him as they rounded a corner, their shoulders brushing together, grinning. "I guess I should warn you I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie, but you're the birthday boy. What is something that you want to do more than anything? It doesn't matter what it is. I'm an angel, remember? I can make it happen."

Preston let out a soft laugh as they walked down the halls, eme jotting having this beautiful stranger entwined and pressed up closed to him all the while. For a moment, he looked thoughtful, a few choice options definitely coming to mind. But for now... He glanced aside at her, a small smirk appearing as he spoke, "Anything you say? You can do that? That almost sounds like a challenge," He mused aloud. As stupid as it probably sounded to a woman, he was starving. The young man had avoided the cheap chips and dessert to the best of the ability. If it was his birthday, he planned on dining like a king. "I do have one wish . It involves knives, blood, and setting things ablaze. ... Not sure if it would be to your liking."

There were a million things he could've suggested; coffee, karaoke, a day at the arcade, backflips, anything. She would've jumped at the opportunity to do them all. That was the last thing she would've expected, and for the second or third time since she'd gotten to this school, she was stumped, surprised, and completely lost for words. It only came across as a moment of hesitation, Jane shooting him a quizzical glance as they headed down the hall, but for a second that motor mouth had sputtered out. Fire, blood, and blades. "Do I look squeamish to you?" she asked with a small purse of her lips. People here really knew how to keep a girl on her toes. He didn't strike her as the school shooter type, and she didn't mind a bit of morbid humor. If it was humor. There was the off chance that he was serious and wanted to slice her up and bake her into a birthday cake. "I'm insulted. You name it, I'll do it. What exactly do you have in mind, birthday boy?"

Whether she meant it to happen or not, he'd still caught onto her hesitation, and that had all too easily cracked a smile out of him. Out of context, you could make almost anything sound completely terrible. "I don't think I can say," he mused. On the outside, she looked like the typical innocent high school girl, with short delicate hair and soft eyes, but her attitude and the way she carried herself told a completely different story. "I appreciate your enthusiasm. You can help me then, and hopefully live to see another day." The Autumn joked, stopping in front of the room to his dorm. It was one of the first listed, and all too easy to find.

It wasn't until the moment he'd put his hand on the door knob that he had considered that they wouldn't exactly be alone in there. Normally when he brought a girl over, he did so at a careful schedules, as to not get any shit from his other three dorm mates. Amelia generally looked the other way, but Keirsta and Kayla on the other hand...

He held back an exasperated look, glancing down at Jane and quickly deciding that they would live and he didn't particularly care if they had a problem with him bringing a new friend over. Preston swung open the door, holding it open for her. "I have everything already set up and waiting." He smiled, shooting a glance towards the kitchen before anything else.