Alright Now...

Richard was just walking around the hallways around lunch time right after some of his classes. He hated having to push through people to try to get to the cafeteria at this point, but it was really the only place to get food. Otherwise he would totally go to Rosebury for the cafe or something. Of course, pushing past people really shouldn't be that much of an issue for him, but as of late, he had began to tolerate it since all he had been thinking about for the past couple of days was Vera and how mad he was with her. Almost every time her name came up, he would immediately fall into a grumpy mood. She was such a pain to deal with, thinking that she could just show up and everything would be alright. But at the same time, he couldn't help but keep thinking about her. It was so infuriating. But of course, as he was fighting the crowd, the one person he hoped he wouldn't see was just ahead of him. Why did she have to be here now of all places? Hopefully she wouldn't notice him. He didn't really feel like arguing today.

"No way!" Verona said in disbelief to some girl who had followed her down the hallway, spilling her juicy secrets to her. Of course, the girl probably wouldn't have said these things to her normally, but Verona seemed to... have a way with people. Just throw them a little smile, bat your eyes a little and the world was at you feet. She had learnt this young and wasn't quick to forget it. Only it seemed there was one person she couldn't quite get it to work on.

Richard. Damn that boy. That was all she could think about lately, how annoying he was. How he thought he could run her life. How all he did was put her down. Ugh, just the thought of his annoying voice made her blood start to boil. Probably why she had been so harsh to everyone lately. All she could think about was this stupid boy and it was messing up her vibes. Did she mention how-

Then her bad thought was cut short as the girl started nagging her about not listening to her problems. "Wow, thank you so much for nagging me like my mother. No wonder you can't keep a boyfriend." Verona snapped, looking at her with disgust. Oops, probably wasn't the right move because the girl's eyes welled up with tears and she ran away. Sad thing was, she didn't even feel bad. There were more important things at hand- like, ugh! Richard's ugly sense of style.

The girl stopped to calm herself down and when she focused back into the present she realized that low and behold she was looking straight at Richard. Well think of the devil, there he was. Verona made sure to make eye contact with him, before offering him a smug grin and head nod, as if acknowledging she saw him.

As soon as she turned to look at him Richard just stopped dead in his tracks. Oh great... Before letting out a big sigh, he continued walking down the hall until he passed Vera, not really stopping for her. If she wanted to talk, she would catch up, but as he passed her, he somewhat mockingly grinned back and casually continued on his way, his head held high. He wasn't going to let her put him in a bad mood again. For the first time in quite some time, he was finally able to sleep again, so he was already beginning to feel a little bit better, but that just put a damper on his day. But not as much as it did earlier.

Verona narrowed her eyes. Oh no, he wasn't going to just give her a smug smile and stroll away. He wasn't going to win this. Verona was determined to get even and looking around the hallway she spotted her plan. There he was, standing 6'3" and muscular. Handsome and strong, he was exactly what she needed to win this hallway war. Verona glided over, flashing him a dazzling smile and batting her eyelashes a few times.
It was like putty in her hands, as the boy dropped what he was doing and held out his arm for Verona to take. "Well hi there, muscle man." The girl purred, making sure to make eye contact with him- to seal the deal at least for now. He was completely useless at this point and would basically do what she wanted to for the time being. Quickening her pace, Verona surpassed Richard, making sure to glance back at him with a mischievous grin and a wink. Verona tightened her grip on the boy's arm, forcing him to turn onto the right hallway.

At first when Vera first passed Richard again in the hallway, he just rolled his eyes and kept moving forward until she suddenly turned the corner... with another guy linking arms with her. Wait, since when did she have a boyfriend? Almost instantly, irritation and several other things began to churn inside of him as he quickly and (attempting to) inconspicuously followed them around the corner. He didn't recognize the guy. Not that it wasn't easy to recognize anyone since he barely talked to anyone else, but surely he'd recognize who it was. Nope, just someone who he really thought looked better than he did. But in all of his attempts to try to keep himself hidden, he wasn't doing a very good job and was actually pretty obvious to spot out in the crowd.

Verona could practically feel the heat rolling off of Richard. The brunette glanced over her shoulder and looked for him out of the corner of her eyes. She saw the top of a blonde head, and decided not to take any chances. Vera looked up at this guy, who was stunningly gorgeous, but she could tell was lacking a little bit in the brain section. He had a really tight grip on her, but with a quick shake of her head he released his grip on her arm and wrapped it around her waist. Perfect. Looking up at him, she flashed him a forced smile, but out of the corner of her eyes she searched for Richard. He was watching now and almost looked angry, not a big shocker.

Stopping for a second, Vera reached up on her tippy-tippy toes and kissed the mystery boy on the cheek. She could feel the boy falling deeper and deeper under her spell and her eyes grew slightly as he protectively grabbed her arm. Verona raised her eyebrows in shock, but she was too determined to win, to stop now. Looking behind herself again she spotted Richard and laughed a little. This seemed to tick off this mystery boy, because he also turned around and eyed Richard with a deep-set stare.

Wait, was that? Oh, no. She must have been pulling some kind of trick on him. There's no way that in that short of a period, she was able to find a boyfriend like that... could she? He was seriously doubting himself now as his expression kept changing from that of anger to sadness and almost disappointment. In complete honesty, he really didn't know how he felt right now. He just knew that something was up and he didn't really like it. It was that guy. He was the one that was seriously bothering Richard, but he couldn't explain why. But as soon as she kissed him on the cheek, Richard knew that he couldn't just sit back and watch this anymore. He needed to talk to Vera. He just didn't know what exactly to say, but he still acted on impulse anyway.

Instead of pushing through the crowd, Richard took the short route. Without even thinking for a second, he found himself pushing through the walls, looking at ever little crack and crevice that was in each cinder block holding up the school because that was definitely better to look at than the inside of peoples' bodies... much, much better. Rushing to try to get around her, he was finally able to pass her and put himself back in the hallway so that he stopped right in front of Vera and her 'boyfriend.' It wasn't subtle at all, but it would definitely keep her from moving any farther. "Hey, uh, can I talk to you for a second..." he took a second to look at the strange guy who was still protectively holding her. "...alone?" His voice was very quick to ask the question. It was more of a demand, really.

At the sight of another male approaching he tightened his grip on Verona and she let out a small yelp and looked up at him and did a firm "no" with her head. He quickly let go and instead put a hand on the small of her back. Only Richard did something she was not expecting in the lightest. He looked angry and Verona could quiet understand why, it freaked her out.

As soon as his words left his mouth, Verona opened her mouth to give a witty remark, but the mystery boy shook his head. "Yeah, no. I don't think so." He snapped, holding on to Verona tightly. This just made the girl roll her eyes and she pushed him away. "Oh please, I'm fine. I'll see you around later." Verona hinted for him to leave and her gift made sure that the word got around clear. Turning around, Verona faced him with her arms folded across her bust. "What do you want," She said bitterly, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "I was having a moment there."

For just a split second, a look of pure disgust appeared on Richard's face, but if Verona blinked, she would have completely missed it. "Yeah... A moment." Getting back onto the subject, Richard suddenly was trying to think of what he wanted to say. He really didn't think he would get this far, but here he was standing in front of her with all of her attention looking like an idiot. "Who is that guy?" he asked, thinking he should start off a little less demanding. It'd probably save some trouble for now.

Verona couldn't help but roll her eyes again at Richard's over dramatic attitude. Okay, sure she was trying to make him mad, but now it just seemed too easy. I mean what was the fun in that? It's not like they were dating... or even friends for that matter. "Why do you care?" Verona asked furrowing her brow and running her hands through the ends of her hair. There were people laughing in the distance, and the rummaging of people pushing their way to their destinations. She didn't like just standing here with... Richard. He didn't even like her anyway, so what was the big fuss about?

Richard suddenly paused. Why did he care? He didn't even like Verona, much less should he care what she does. Taking a look back at the strange guy that had just walked off, he turned back to Vera, suddenly acting a little more calm as if he were just trying to shrug off the irritation he had just felt. "Uh..." he started, trying to think of what else to say. "He looks nice. Just wanted to know who he was. You guys look like you could make a great couple." He attempted to look sincere as he said that, but it turned out to look more like a sneer and more mocking... which is kind of was. To him, the new guy actually looked like he just had air in his head. He was definitely bigger than Richard, but it didn't particularly faze him much.

Verona bit her lip, as though deciding if she believed him or not. He was almost mocking her for walking down the hall with a guy... I mean it's not like she felt anything for the boy anyway. She just wanted to show she was better than Richard. Which she felt like she did, but maybe just a little too well. Because now he was like being weirdly protective of her and she really didn't understand it. He like hated her and all, right? "Right." She said with a furrowed brow and a shake of her head, she obviously didn't believe him. "So you pulled me aside to tell me you thought we made a cute couple? Okay Dickie, sure." Verona stared at him bitterly, a snarl breaking out across her face.

He shrugged her stare away as he tried to further explain himself. What he said wasn't exactly believable and her face seriously showed it. If anything, it looked like he was already ticking her off, which wasn't exactly his purpose, but it could be a bonus. If only he really knew why he came over here to talk to her in the first place... "Well, let me explain myself," he jabbed back quickly. "You see, he looks like he's about a dumb as a stick. He might look good, but I'm pretty sure there's just a bunch of air in his head. Perfect and very easy for you to manipulate. You guys make the perfect couple!" There it was. Great comeback. He felt a little proud for that one, and his confidence showed in his expression.

Verona stared at him, she was shocked, and frustrated, and disgusted by Richard at the moment. She felt as though just breathing the same air as him lowered her IQ by at least 15 or so points. His boyish ignorance, and pure cattiness, it was a quality she wasn't sure a guy could even possess. And yet, he had basically stalked her down the hallway to give her a hard time about this boy she had been with. He was almost searching for a fight with her, but Verona subconsciously knew that this is how she wanted this to play out. She loved the attention, and yes even the attention from... Richard. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Verona stepped closer to him. Continuing towards him so that they were nearly inches apart. Her anger was seething and you could practically feel the heat rolling off of her. "That's funny Dickie, I didn't know you were an expert on my gift." She said, leaning in closer, running a hand down his arm. "I didn't know you knew, who I could manipulate and who I couldn't." Verona stared at Richard with blinking eyes. Reaching up, she ran a hand through his hair and rested it back on his shoulder. Just trying to prove a point...

When Vera first started talking, Richard could only feel his own temperature rising from how aggravated he was becoming, but the longer that she talked, the more all of the feelings were kind of shoved out of the way. It was very strange and only the second time that he had felt her try to manipulate him, but at the moment, he couldn't really tell that it was her. At first it was slightly obvious, but then everything just began melting away. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He was still pissed off at her, but it was turning into a want to be near her. God, it was so annoying! But he couldn't help it. In less than a second he was already under her spell, staring dumbly back at her as she continued to speak. She was actually making him fall for her... and the sad part was that it was working-- really well, actually. And as soon as she closed her mouth and just stared at him, he instantly found himself pushing himself closer to her, closing the already small gap between his face and hers. At first, it was the strangest thing he had ever really experienced, but it quickly felt natural. He honestly wasn't sure if this kiss was her power over him or if it was actually himself, but either way, that was a thing that just happened.