A Stable Relationship

Kayla withered as he moved to touch her stomach, separating as fast and as much as she could without flying backwards out of the saddle, her face heating up as Millie rounded to a stop. He could've let go at any moment, but his palm was still pressed against her. Electricity flickered out of her bangs as he pulled away and she let her hand droop to her sides. Fuck. She ran her fingers through her hair with a sigh, shooting him a glowering glance, and turned her head away. She turned back to look at him as he spoke, shying away from the cowboy as he tried to plop it on her head. Kayla bared her teeth, leaning as far back as she could in the position they were in. "Right back at ya," she muttered, still eyeing the hat with a tinge of suspicion. "That hat means a lot to me, so I'm not leaving without it."

Myles nodded as he flipped his hat back onto his head.  He knew what it meant to be sentimental and so he tapped Millie's flank to start walking around the enclosure.  He was able to easily eye the sandy parts from a distance and scanned the area with his blue-gray eyes.  Once nothing out of the ordinary seemed to pop out at him, he pulled her towards where the horses normally graze.  About thirty yards of grass, all uneven due to the horses.  He pulled the horse to just outside the area, eyeing around to look for the distinct gray-black color contrasting against the green grass.  "It'd probably be better to look on foot, and I think Millie'd probably be happy for us to get off her back, you first, just pull your right leg over her and use the left stirrup, it'll be easy-peasy."  He just worried about keeping Millie still as he awaited Kayla's response.

She was all too glad to be off this thing. Kayla nodded at the instructions, glancing down at either side of them, and started to pull up her leg. Easy. Easy-peasy. Right. Holding in her breath, she pulled her leg over to the other side of the saddle and started to slip off. All she had to do was land on her own two feet. Who could fuck that up?

Kayla fucked it up.

Her foot caught in the stirrup, and then she was falling, flailing forward with electricity blasting out of her palms. Instinctively, she curled her body up to avoid landing on her face, and landed in the grass with an awkward somersault as her shoe came loose of the stirrup. When she opened her eyes, she was sprawled out on her back across the grass. Lightning fluxed down the length of her body.

Kayla sat up with all the dignity she could muster and crawled to her feet without a word, dusting the grass off her clothes. With another dangerous flash of electricity down her back, she shot a glare up at Myles daring for him to laugh. "I-I'm fine!" she snapped preemptively, the red tinge to her cheeks deepening. She turned her head away, clumps of grass still in her hair. "There's no need to worry about me!"

He did his dandest to keep from laughing, revealing only a small smile when she said she was alright.  He pulled his leg over the horse, deftly landing on his feet and stepping up to her.  This time he wasn't the one to have a spill and it was kind of gratifying to not be the idiot for once.  "You sure? 'Cause that was quite a spill, check your elbows and calves, you probably wouldn't feel it 'till you see it."  He adrenaline was probably pumping throughout her body and she'd probably barely feel her legs.  He looked around and looked down at his boots only to see the gray bill of a cap under it.  He kind of recoiled back, stepping back, noticing the round bill wasn't so round anymore.  He cringed, that probably wouldn't end well, but he didn't want to fuck it up anymore than the bill already was.  He reached down and wrapped his fingers around the soft black panel on the back.  He smirked as he lifted it up, adjusted it onto his index finger and slowly spun it on.  "Well, don't hurt so bad, guess what Mr Laredo just found."  He looked at the thing and pondered as it spun what it went through, and why it was special to her.  It looked kinda beat up and old, so it had to be something worn for awhile.  He just shrugged and let his blue eyes lock back onto Kayla's offering a wide smile.

Hey! He was asking for something worse than a tumble off a platform if he was going to talk like that. Kayla turned her head away as he landed on the grass beside the horse, only looking back when he spoke again. There it was. Her hat... And of course, that fucking oaf had stepped on it. Good grief. She snatched it out of his hand and pulled it close with a sharp intake of breath as she traced her finger over the bill, almost delicately, sparks popping around her head. "Yeah, thanks," she muttered in a voice thick with frustration, doing her best to bend it back into shape. Kayla let out a sigh. Ahh, oh well... It wasn't like this old thing hadn't been through worse. Grass stains and scuff marks, and a darker splotch along the bill that was almost indiscernible from the black. Almost. All memories. She plopped it back on her head, keeping her fingers clasped along the bill of her cap for a few moments too long, as if she was afraid it was going to fly away again. Kayla let her hand fall to her side.

There was a sharp throb in her elbow, but she didn't check. Probably just a scrape. Besides, she didn't want to follow through with his advice. "This just means you double-owe me, y'know." And he probably wasn't going to be able to pay that off with another horse ride. Not unless he let her push him off mid-gallop.

Myles clenched his teeth, nothing worked with this girl, did it?  He tried to be nice, and he could see her favoring her arm, she moved her arm slow and robotic.  He took his hat off, letting his wild dirty-blonde hair out, frustration in his own eyes, he ground his teeth for a second before saying "Really?  And how do you expect me to pay it off, huh?  Just like you I ain't got money, we'd have to fucking shoot our dinner some nights.  I ain't got no homework for you to copy off, I turn in my English on time and I haven't ever understood quadratic equations."  He threw the black hat to the dirt marching up to her, he'd had e-fucking-nough of the bullshit.  "You don't drink, and I'm sure you'd be too much of a lightweight to handle the liquor I frequent, and I certainly ain't got no fucking magic electric powers that have no holds barred.  What do you expect me to do for you? Huh? Cause I ain't got a clue, I apparently ain't go nothin' you want.  Sorry that sometimes I want to try to fucking help."  He threw his hands up, his blue-gray eyes flared with anger and his face was an ugly anger.  He turned on his heels and kicked his hat, which held value to him too, but what did it matter?  He already gave in enough for her, why did his own sentimentality matter?  The hat flipped through the air, before hitting the ground on it's brim, bending the front of it a slight bit more.  He crossed his arms, looking away from her, looking down at his boots.  He breathed in slower to try to cool off a bit, when he realized he just messed up his own hat and just got silently angrier.

Yeah, she was annoyed. She'd been annoyed since she woke up that day. But after all of his smiles and patience, that was the last thing she expected to push him over the edge. Kayla blinked, almost flinching at the sudden storm of anger that came over him. After a stunned moment of silence, electricity went flaring down her arms as she twisted her face in a dangerous snarl. "What the fuck is your problem?!" she snapped back, more sparks dancing at her fingertips as she rounded on him, curling her hands into fists. It'd been a joke. Half a joke, at least. But that was all forgotten as white hot anger swelled up in her chest, turning her face red. She wasn't going to take any of that from him...! "Fucking fine, then! I don't want anything from you!"

He ignored the last statement as he realized what really was his problem.  God he needed a drink, maybe ten or twenty, he just wanted to get paralytic blackout drunk right now.  He went to the grass. gripped the black hat with his right and, and attempted to straighten the bill out a bit, before giving up and placing it on his head.  After having thought over his sentence again he just thought, fuck it.  His blue eyes attempted to meet hers as he messed with his jaw, running over his words one more time.  He then said, less angry and more frustration filled his words "Unlike most people at this school, I've had to work to earn what I've wanted.  But sometimes, if I'm in shitfields and I need to clean the shit, someone coming and throwing shit at me isn't a prospect I like all that much.  But guess what Kayla, I I really like you, okay? I know that the feeling is almost parasitic, but my problem is that I knew fell well I was gonna be in some shitfields to go after ya, but the fact of the matter is, you're different, you know what it's like to be stuck without anything you want and half the shit you need.  You don't fish for compliments and you don't take shit, so many people here are soft, you know?  You'd punch them in the arm and they'd break.  Even if you could be abrasive, I could be temperamental.  But whatever!  Cards are on a table on fucking fire." He took one step closer as he shook his head, his eyes looking over her shoulder, giving him a break from eye contact for a second.  He opened his mouth for a second, thinking of saying something else but he just drew a blank, shit.  He just crossed his arms as he looked back up at her, he mentally prepared himself for either or a verbal or very literal beatdown.  He was running out of anger and he realized what he said, he looked at the brim of the hat on his head, bent farther forward than before.  Shit, he was probably gonna find himself with a black eye, his brother's hat fucked up and lonelier than when he was at the hospital.  Well, it was cool while it lasted, at least he had alcohol at the dorm, he'd get fucked up either way, just with a different mood in mind.

Man, did he have to look like that? She couldn't get a straight signal out of any of this, especially when he started to ramble again... This guy really liked to talk, didn't he? Kayla turned away and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to make sense out of any of this. He could come across as down to earth, so why couldn't he just be straightforward now? Something about shoveling shit, or... Hey, wait, what did he say?! Kayla almost jumped at the comment, but he just kept on speaking. As backhanded as it was, it sounded like flattery. She looked away, rubbing the back of her neck, a tinge of red still across her cheeks. He didn't mean what she thought he meant, did he? No, that was stupid. "Wh-where's all this even coming from...?" she said, tripping on her words. God, idiot.

Her anger was as gone as quick as it came, replaced by a sudden surge of embarrassment. She whirled around and crossed her arms, doing her best to save face. "W-whatever!" she barked. "It's fine! So just forget about apologizing!" Even if he wasn't apologizing. A detail like that didn't matter. "I don't want you getting sappy on me."

Myles was almost taken aback, he expected a torrent of...something.  Be it electricity, insults or fists, but nothing.  He saw red flash across her face, and she was tripping over words.  He was about to remark, re-iterate what he just said, when she authoritatively to him, to stop apologizing.  He was confused as she turned away from him, he didn't know what to say from here.  She said she didn't want him sappy, so he took one more step and crossed his arms, he decided he'd be confident.  "Well, if you don't want sap, then Kayla, I like you, and yes in that way, can't pinpoint exactly how long, but I have."  He let it be said, re-iterated, he decided it'd be best to have no misunderstandings.  He dug his boot into the dirt slightly as he thought over what was going on.  A tinge of red was forming on his cheeks as well, what could he say?  This was abrupt, but he knew he had to say it if he wanted any chance at all.

unleash the tsundere

No. No. No. No way. He was messing with her, or this was all just a big misunderstanding, or... or something! She'd been through a lot, but she'd never had to deal with a situation like this. It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't so... abrupt! Who said something like that in a time like this? Kayla was speechless, fumbling for words, but it all choked up in her throat. Fuck. What? That... agh...! "Don't... d-don't screw with me!" she said, her voice cracking. Her face was burning. Her hands were shaking. After all his stupid jokes, this was the least funny...!

Black dust began to swirl up from the ground around her, tiny sparks flashing in the dirt. He was getting back at her for blowing up on him, wasn't he? Well, alright, she was sorry, but this was going too far! The dust swarmed around her clenched fist, forming into what looked like a long baton. Then it started to vibrate, buzzing like a chainsaw, electricity rippling along the edges. She whirled around to face him, her face as red as a tomato. The blade of iron dust went slicing through the grass like a weed whacker, sending up a spray of grass and earth. "Start running!!"

This was easier than trying to talk all this out.

Myles eyes widened and he took a step back, but when she screamed at him to run, he clenched his teeth.  That's what she wanted, huh?  She thought he was playing some type of cruel joke?  Was this seriously how she handled all foreign situations?  The grass and dirt pelted him but he stood strong, this was gonna take some work...  His anger began to flare, what did she think of him as?  Some cruel piece of shit who messes with girls emotions?  That was the kind of guy he'd pummel.  He stepped up as he was now only about six inches from where the blade sliced through grass, his hair began to stand up on end.  

"What kinda goddamned person do you take me for?!  Why in Sam Hill would I screw with you about that!  Who the Hell would eve-  Listen, just relax I'm not fucking with you goddamnit!  This ain't no bullshit, I ain't playing no fucking joke, you just need to relax...I prefer my ankles attached to my body!"  He screamed all of it out to her, trying to hold his anger, and it was hard.  Usually when a girl got angry before Beata they'd slap you or something, not pull out a six foot fucking sword.  He prepared his own gift, he might need it to keep his knee caps or head.  He didn't fully believe she would go as far as to fatally or mortally wound him, but he stayed on his toes just in case.  He thought about how all this started with a goddamned horse ride.  What a day.

And he was angry again. She'd been expecting him to run, and then this whole situation would've unraveled and fixed itself, but now he was putting himself in a bad situation. It was his own fault for being a stubborn idiot, but it was getting rapidly too late for him to back down. Kayla's face managed to get even redder, if that was even possible, as she stirred herself forward, flailing the sword wildly around in the air. "Arrgghh! Are you stupid?!" Around that point, that quick one second window, she realized she didn't want to slice off any of his limbs. Maybe just cut him a little, or seriously maim. But it was an unconscious whim, and the thought barely crossed her mind before it was drowned out in the surge of embarrassment filling her head.

As she came charging forward, the sword exploded into a cloud of black dust, blinding them both. She lowered herself down and led with the shoulder, aiming for the full body tackle. He was a full foot taller, but she'd never let a detail like that get in her way before.

Myles took a step back again as she began swinging, his pupils narrowing and time beginning to hit a snail's pace.  He was getting ready to start making moves when the sword suddenly disappeared.  In this extra time he had, he believed it was over and let his pupils return to normal, time speeding up rapidly.  That was when she hit him.  She was much smaller, but what his coach always told him in football the couple years he played, lowest one wins.  All he could do as he was knocked off his feet was kick near Kayla's legs, hoping to get her over him, which failed miserably.  Sure her legs seemed to go out from under her, but Myles' already were, so they were both going the same speed in the same direction.

Myles hit the dirt first, with Kayla being on top of him, he got hit by her next.  With a few more inches across the dirt, the two would be at a standstill.  Myles, laid there only barely aware of his crush on top of him as he tried to make sure all of his joints were still located.  Only after a few seconds did he realize the predicament he was in.  His hat had been flung off in the attack and the red creeping across his cheeks was for all eyes to see.  He opened his mouth to say something, but didn't know what to, what the fuck were you supposed to say in this situation?  He certainly had nothing and almost started babbling away when decided to just let Kayla probably beat him down or something and he let his head fall back into the dirt with a 'poof' noise.

She didn't know what she'd been expecting, or hoping to get out of this. There wasn't any room for any thought or logic. She was just doing things the only way she knew how. Talking was hard. Actions spoke loud and clear. Kayla went slamming into him and he went folding like a lawn chair, but then they were both flying toward the ground. Oof! They both hit the ground in a shower of sparks, and when she came back to her senses, she was sprawled out on top of him. It took a few more seconds for her thoughts to catch up to her as she raised a fist.

...Did he have to blush like that?! He was making this weird...! She was trying to kick his ass here! With a high-pitched eeeek!, she rolled off of him and into the grass, scrambling to her feet.

Kayla pointed her finger down at him, electricity flaring down her body in hot white flash as her face burned a deep crimson. "I-I'll get you later! Idiot...!"

That was enough for today.

With that, she turned around and started to sprint away, the last of her dignity abandoned on the field.