That Watchful Feeling [Kale]

"Who may you be. I am Ryan Wertenberger."

Kiar almost jumped as the voice reached her ears, but it was only almost. There was no way she wanted to look like she had been caught off guard. Spinning to face whoever had spoken, she glared. It was a boy, about her age, and he was looking her in the eyes. She kept his gaze, her own blue-gray eyes holding steady. His question may have startled her, but she wouldn't show it. "Kiar Fero. What are you doing here?" If he could be direct, so could she.

Now that her instantaneous reaction and reply were out of the way, she could look over the person who had made her flinch more times than he knew. His eyes were like hers, but with a bit more blue in them, they were eyes that as good as told her he could be trouble. His hair was not quite blonde, but not quite brown either and he was a little shorter than her. That was surprising, not many people, let alone guys, were shorter than her. He did look at least decently muscled though. Not that it mattered, she could at least give him a beating if he needed it. She was no pushover herself.

He hadn't come too close to her, something she was both grateful for and wary of. If he had gotten any closer without her noticing, she could have been in trouble, but him leaving that gap might mean he was at least nervous of her. She would have to find out what he was up to, even if it might be better to leave that be.

It seemed she had caught him off guard, like he hadn't expected how direct she was being. It was odd, seeing how he had not hesitated about being direct with her, but not necessarily a bad thing. His glance had turned almost wary, which was something she didn't really mind but which made her question his confidence. Perhaps his directness was all show. What did it matter though, it wasn't as if he was different than any other person. If anything, he might actually be braver than a lot of people she could name, most of whom were scared of her. It seemed he had collected himself enough to answer, "I am just coming back from a little Stroll around the field. Mind if I ask you what your doing out here. Specially when it is a little cold out."

Did she mind, not particularly, but most people wouldn't care about who she was or what she was doing. Then again, some people knew her, and knew of her frequent visits to the fence in search of entertainment, materials or sometimes food. It appeared this boy did not, which was fine too. Now he was looking at her, as if analyzing her motives, his blue eyes filled with what she could only perceive as momentary concern. But then it was covered up, as though he was wondering what to do. No matter, she would just answer him and see what he did from there. Whatever his motives were, she would be fine. She was always able to take care of herself. "I was trying to solve my boredom, there's nothing to do back home and I was searching for something to do. As for it being cold, I don't really mind it. I go without a coat all the time."

Despite her being confident, she relaxed her tone. She wasn't as direct as she had been, but she wasn't spinning a long tale for something that could be said in a few words. And though she had told him she wasn't cold, his coat looked warm. It had been a long time since she had had her own coat, her family being unable to afford a new one after the old one wore out. She chided herself, it was only a little cold, she didn't need a coat. Yeah, and the next thing I know, I'll be frozen solid. It wouldn't do her any good to think like that, she would buy herself a jacket of some sort next time she had enough money. When that time would come, that was what made all the difference. Oh well, it was the life she lived. "Why so much interest in me, I'm just another citizen of District Twelve." She used a tone that suggested it was an offhand comment, as if the answer would only mildly interest her. However, she was curious what made the boy want to know about her. She almost scoffed at herself as she thought, maybe he finds me interesting. Yeah-no, she doubted that very much, but you never know.

Once again, she had caught him off guard. This time, however, it wasn't her directness that had done it. It was the question she had so innocently posed. Kiar gave him time to think about his answer, knowing that if he wasn't expecting the question it would take him longer to prepare the answer. He looked at her for a little bit longer, as if he was still trying to pull his thoughts together to create an answer. She let him, and sure enough, he answered, "Well I do not really know. Maybe it is the fact that you didn't just shrug me off as some other jerk guy from the distract, or it may be the fact that you have this weird essence around you that just jumps at me as a person who needs to be talked to and shown some respect." Perhaps his thoughts weren't quite in order yet, as he was beginning to spill what sounded like unrefined thoughts. It was as if his words were going directly from his brain and out his mouth. Blabbing, she realized, he doesn't know what to say, so he's just saying anything.

His words, for all that they were just as contained as a leaky pipe, drew out her shyness. Her gaze slowly slipped to her feet, even as she tried to tug her head back up. Here she went again, that dreaded shyness coming to take hold of her, even as their conversation was going so well. She would bet that some colour had risen to her cheeks as well, and she tried to hide her face all the more from him. His words were kind, a little sloppy, but kind. It just made her a little self-conscious, causing her accursed shyness to appear. "I uh... Um..." What was she supposed to say to that? Thank you? But that would sound like she was arrogant or something. Oh, what could she say?

Maybe it wouldn't be too bad of an idea to get to know him better, get rid of this shyness with him. Hopefully it wouldn't stay, it was always harder if she was too shy to respond. Please, don't let him get put off by my sudden shyness, I would hate it if it ruined my chance at getting to know him.

Ryan had fallen silent, and Kiar was beginning to worry that he would leave. She could tell his eyes were on her, and the burning in her cheeks increased a little at the thought. Then she heard him take a deep breath, about to speak. "Hey Kiar, this is a random question and all... But do you want to come with me into the district. Maybe we can talk some more get to become friends hopefully?" She felt her mouth open slightly, as if she was either shocked or about to speak, she wasn't sure which. She tried to keep herself calm, but his request sounded almost like he was asking her out. Surely it was just the way he was phrasing it, he wasn't actually interested in her like that. Was he? What did it matter, it wouldn't make much difference in the end.

But to answer, she would have to look up. She hated looking at her feet while speaking to people, it felt like she was being rude, even if she couldn't help it. As long as he didn't notice the blush in her cheeks, then it would be fine. Take a deep breath, calm yourself, then look up. And so she did, one deep breath in, one long exhale. She shut her eyes for a moment, then opened them and forced herself to look up at him. It took all of her strength to keep her gaze up as she met his eyes, feeling the weight of the ground dragging at them. He was looking at her with what seemed to be a hopeful smile, which made it both easier and harder to talk to him. She took another deep breath and forced herself to speak. "Th-that sounds like a good idea."

She tried to smile at him, and felt her face grow hot. She knew she was blushing again, and that there would be no way for him to no see it. Oh here we go. This is a great way to begin a friendly walk through the District. Oh well, if he didn't just leave her when she got shy, maybe he wouldn't ditch her even if she was blushing so much she looked like beat. Well, maybe not that much, but she was still blushing pretty badly.

Her gaze dropped to her feet again, shy as ever. Then she heard him laugh, just a little bit. He saw me blushing then, great. I probably look like a fool. But he didn't leave, and he didn't make fun of her. She forced herself to look up once more and saw that he was blushing as well, faintly but it was there. And then he came a little closer, not too much but there was only about an arms-length of space between them now. Much closer than she had been to a guy in a while. She managed to keep her gaze up, if only because she was wondering what he was doing. Maybe he actually did mean it as a date. Then again, maybe he was just being friendly. People were friendly like this right?

But not usually with her. She wasn't exactly the most sociable, but she did know some people. The people she knew didn't act like this, not that she knew of anyways. She was putting too much thought into this, it was just time to relax and let Ryan explain, however he wanted to. She would just go along, because he seemed nice. Or at least nice enough. "Hey sorry for being so blunt, I noticed you blushing and well I just figured out that what I had asked sounded a lot like I was asking you out on a date." She almost sighed, whether from relief or disappointment she didn't know. She was just glad she held it in, she didn't want to give him the wrong idea about her.

And now it seemed to be his turn to go shy. He was gazing at his feet, perhaps embarrassed by his words. But what he didn't know was that it cleared up some of her confusion, but only about what he thought of her. She still wasn't sure about her thoughts of him. He laughed again, but this time it was clearly from embarrassment, not because of her. Once more his gaze shifted to her, this time staying there. He seemed to be thinking, about what though she couldn't be sure.

Then he did something she wasn't expecting. He held out his hand to her, as if inviting her to take it. She waited, trying to see if it was genuine or not. As she watched, it looked like he had slipped back into his thoughts. His eyes seemed to shift out of focus for a moment before he shook his head and looked at her again. His hand was still extended towards her, still and open invitation. Perhaps it was one she should take. What would happen if she didn't?

What would happen if she did?

He's so nice, I don't see why it would be wrong... but still, we only just met. She was in a dilemma now, trying to decide whether or not to take this step. It would probably hurt him if I didn't take his hand. And I... I kind of want to. She realized that she actually did want to, despite barely knowing him, despite meeting him in a place where few know and fewer go. She wanted to take this boy's hand. So she did, gently putting her hand in his, watching him the whole time. But it wasn't out of mistrust, it was because she wanted to see his reaction. How much did he want her to take his hand. She was now able to manage a smile without looking down, though she still blushed just less this time. "Blunt is alright." And her smile grew a little bigger.

He smiled at her, right after she had spoken he had turned and given her a goofy smile. It made her smile right back, and even caused her to giggle. He had pulled her hand, and ultimately her, a little closer. It was as if he didn't want to let her go. The thought made her blush, and made her realize that she wasn't sure if she wanted him to let go. He turned to face her fully now, still gripping her hand, and still looking into her eyes. She felt her smile broaden and tilted her head down to give him a shy, yet flirting look. That was odd, she never usually acted like this. She watched as he took a breath to speak, "Where is it you want to go to?" She lifted her head and took a step forward so she was standing beside him. His eyes seemed to pass over her, and he took a moment of pause before saying, "Do you want to borrow my jacket? It seems like it got a little chilly and we don't want to get cold."

She raised her eyebrows at him. We? Surely he meant her. Her smile turned into a bit of a grin. He just doesn't want to say he doesn't want me to be cold. She giggled, then clapped a hand over her mouth. What was up with her now, all of a sudden she was acting like a little girl. What was happening? Her eyes flicked to Ryan. Was he noticing this as clearly as she was? She straightened herself a little before replying. "I don't really mind where we go. I'm up for anything." A small smile played across her lips and she flicked her eyes away and back to him again. "I don't really mind the cold either but-" She looked almost sidelong at him and inched a little closer as wind started to blow past them. Her smile turned a little sheepish, and very lopsided. "I guess I mind a little more than I thought."