AWKWARD ROMAN ANTS

James smiled and sat next to her. "Oh, I'm willing to try very hard to turn that frown upside down." His smile grew into a grin and he realized that he would try incredibly hard to make her smile. It was worth it to him. "And anyway, isn't weird better than insane?"

Ethan

I looked over at Fawn and smiled. "Pretty much all my life. It's kinda hard to find a band though. What about you? Play any instruments?"

Tara

"Oh, you can try James, let's see what happens. Yes...I suppose insane would be worse." I looked at him while he sat next to me, enjoying being able to talk to someone for once in my life.

James smile grew slightly, but then he made it disappear and he mimicked her expression. "Alright, I guess I'll have to try extremely hard. I'm also going to try and make you laugh. If I have to, I shall die trying." He watched her, his mind going over tactics to get a smile or laugh out of her.

Tara

I looked at his face, he was mimicking my expression. "I sure do hope I don't look THAT weird. You might end up dying though." I almost did laugh a little at his expression, but that wouldn't be much of a challenge for him.

"Maybe, maybe not. The world may never know." James bit back a smile and nodded. "That's just a risk I'm willing to take." His tone was dead serious. He really wanted to see her smile and he wasn't quite sure why.

"Why are you so intent on trying this? You might die." I sat back and crossed my arms, staring straight at him, but interested at how persistent he ended up being. "It might be quite a challenge. Th most challenging challenge that ever came into the world of challenges." I saw that he was trying not to smile too, so I made a face that was super serious despite what I just said.

Fawn: I looked down and spoke. "Yeah." I glanced up. "Guitar." Since second grade, in fact...

"I'm intent on doing this because I want to see you smile and I want to hear you laugh. If I die, I die. Like I said before, it's a risk I'm willing to take." James kept a mask of seriousness on his face. "Well, I take on this challenging challenge that's the most challenging of challenges to come in the world of challenges. I will see you smile, even if it's the last thing I do."

Ethan

"Oh nice! Here wanna play something? It's kinda old but it still works." I handed her my guitar, wondering what she'd say.

Tara

I was shocked for a bit, by how serious he suddenly became, and was almost tempted to give in. "Woah. Keep that up and you're going to be a damn good journalist." My eyes never left his face, and I suddenly thought how much longer I could last without cracking at least a tiny grin.

On the inside, James was grinning, but on the outside he kept his mask up. "Well, that's good because I want to be a good journalist and I plan on being a good journalist. I would tell you the secret, but i'm trying to get you to smile." He shrugged and kept his eyes on her face, only blinking once in a while. There was no way he would miss a smile from her if she happened to smile in the time that it took him to blink.

Tara

"Oh secrets. Nice." I stared at him for what seemed like hours, then finally couldn't take it anymore. I felt the side of my mouth twitch, but hoped he didn't catch it.

James nodded. He noticed the twitch of her mouth and smiled. "Yup, secrets. They're awesome. Maybe after you break I'll let you in on the secret." He winked playfully, hoping it would get some kind of a reaction out of her.

Fawn: I smiled as he handed it to me. "It's beautiful." I whispered. I held it and began to play-slash-sing 'Skyscraper' by Demi Lovato, something that I had learned recently. I only messed up once.

((If you don't know skyscraper, here it is on youtube: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_8ydghbGSg[/url] ))

Tara

It was too much and I finally burst into a small laugh, unable to take it. "Okay. Fine you win. Does the loser have to take some ridiculous penalty now? What's your grand secret?" I stopped laughing, but kept looking at him, a barely visible, content grin on my face.

Ethan

I looked at her with admiration and said "Wow. That was good, you can sing too. Unfortunately, when I try to sing I sound like a raccoon in a garbage disposal. Yeah she's a beauty, almost broken though."

Fawn: I smiled a little. "Thanks, but...nonsense! She's much better than mine. Has so much character."

James grinned, rather happy that he had made her smile and laugh. "The loser has no penalty. I just wanted to see you smile and hear you laugh." He tapped his chin thoughtfully as he thought about to explain his secret. "Well, it's a secret that goes with being a journalist. You concentrate on not showing the emotion you're feeling, but rather you put on a mask of the emotion you want on your face."

Ethan

"No problem. Yeah..." I glanced at my guitar, and looked at all the scratches. " Had her all my life. Take her everywhere. Had to replace the strings about a kajillion times, but she still works at least."

Tara

"Well I'm sure it works amazingly." I glanced down at my coffee, realizing I had barely even touched it. Strangley enough, I wasn't that thirsty anymore.

Lucas: I shook my head. "No. Im old enough to e in college, but i havent gone yet. I figure im going to take at least a year off. Maybe i'll go to college or university, but i dont think so. I dont have much use for it. All i want to do is play my music. My band's trying to hit it big, get a record deal, maybe. Dont need college for that." i said.

James grinned and watched her. "It does, it's just I'm crappy at explaining stuff." His eyes stayed locked on her face and he was happy he had chosen to come over and talk to her. "You know, you're interesting."

Alexandria smiled at that. "What year of college would you be in if you were in college?" She watched him and tried to figure out if how familiar he seemed. She had a feeling that maybe they might have run into each other once... but if they did run into each other they must not have spoken really...

Lucas: "Id be going into my second year, i believe." i said. I wasnt sure why she was asking, but answered anyways. I had no issues answering questions about myself, even wierd ones, usually. I could've sworn id seen her before... maybe on the street or at a performance or something...?

"I'm in my first year. What high school did you go to?" She seriously started to question if her memory was just acting up earlier because he seemed familiar. Maybe they had gone to the same school or something? Her mind raced over the possibilities as she watched him.

Lucas: Wait.... what highschool HAD i gone to? It occurred to me that i couldnt remember its name. "Ummm... its that highschool.... on that street. Y'know, over by those woods? Ohhhhh, what was it called...." i muttered, trying to remember. School..... wasnt something that'd stuck with me too well. I never remembered any of the names of my teachers, or id spend hours trying to open the wrong locker, or forget my classroom..... school had never gotten through to me.

Alexandria smiled and bit back a chuckle that wanted to escape due to the way he worded it. She didn't remember the name offhand either, but knew the place he was talking about. "I know the school your talking about, I went there, although it was probably the worst four years of my life." It was true, she had been teased and she had basically been alone for the most part aside from one person... And that person wasn't even alive anymore.

Lucas: "I dont really remember much of it. I didnt like it there. A lot of crap happened there, people who would say awful things about you or do awful things. Hateful bunch.... although i mostly didnt notice it. I was more preoccupied with more important things like daydreaming and writing lyrics." i said, chuckling. It had been a pretty crappy place, but now i was free and never had to go back.

Fawn: I looked up. "When did you start? Playing, I mean."