` i learned everything alone , specialk

Gregg Linton

Actions/Thinking: 313d8f
Speaking: 076bad
Paranoia: 0d65fc

Gregg seemed to be spending more and more of his time around the water. It was odd. One would think that because he works there he would want to get away, but no. Like many of the other children of the fourth district, he enjoyed spending time around the water. Dare he say he was one of the few adolescent guys who actually did so. Many others were too busy doing guy things, but Gregg did not do anything along those lines. He never liked to hang out with other guys his age, in fact he was just scared of guys in general.

Of course avoiding guys was not the only reason he enjoyed the beach. There were many girls there, but they were all superficial... or crazy. The docks were a much more, well, sane place. Everyone there seemed to be working, they seemed to have a purpose. Gregg, may not have been in the best mental shape, after all, he had paranoia, but he was mentally there. He had a purpose. He had to make money for his family, he had to put food on the table to survive. He held himself to that fact, even though that meant having to be around other guys. It took a toll on his mind, but he forced himself through it. It was better to live in fear than to die of hunger.

Speaking of fear, Gregg always hated the docks. There were too many guys with sharp things, gutting fish or getting their rods ready. Thankfully they did not pay much attention to Gregg. If they did look at him they would envy him. It was Gregg's off day after all; he was just standing on the docks watching the water, wearing a short sleeved polo and khakis. It was nice, to say the least. Looking away from the water he saw a girl. Chances are she was around his age, not a big deal for him. He went up to girls all the time. He always seemed to find a way to become friendly with them. They were much easier than guys.

Slowly strolling over he felt a slight breeze from the ocean hitting his face. It did not mess up his hair in the least, thanks to the gel that he put in earlier in the day. He looked hot, like he always did when he tried in the least. The girl seemed okay looking, she wasn't exactly a drop-dead stunner, but she was decent. Not someone that Gregg would be ashamed about having a relationship with. So he chose to make small talk, there was nothing to lose in that.

"Hi, I'm Gregg. I don't think we've met before."

Gregg Linton

Actions/Thinking: 313d8f
Speaking: 076bad
Paranoia: 0d65fc

Well, that was rude. That was not exactly something that Gregg was used to hearing. Normally someone would at least show some common curtesy, but no, she had to be an ass. A nice person would have came up with some bad excuse, would have tried to make a hint at not wanting to speak to him. But this girl, whatever her name was, just was plain rude.

It actually surprised Gregg to hear that said to him, and he was taken aback for a second. He was even surprised to get such a bitchy reaction when he was just trying to be nice. Did this girl have issues or something? She probably was not a people's person, but Gregg could tell that she wanted some type of interaction. Or at least he thought that she did. Thankfully she did not see his empty stare, as it was directed at the back of her head since she turned around.

The fact that she was just ignoring a him irked Gregg. She was more interested in picking her hair than speaking to him. If he had no conscience she would be in the water right now. Well, actually, that would do nothing. She was in swimwear and from District Four. Everyone in Four who was able to move could swim, except babies and elderly people that is. It actually was amazing how she just could not care at all. He wanted her to care, he had not gotten with any girls recently. But that probably would not sit well with this girl, she would not want to be thought of as an item. Gregg did not want to come off that way in the least, he respected women, yet she did not respect him.

"Well... You have an interesting name..."She could probably tell that he was being sarcastic, but Gregg hoped that it got the message through her brain. Nobody was ever that rude in the world. Did this girl even have friends? If she did not that would be really sad. Sure, some people were loners, but everyone wanted friends. It actually seemed somewhat messed up that she would act this way. She had to be angry at the world because of something. There was no way that Gregg would ever get to find out though.

He actually hated the fact that this girl would probably never warm up to him. There was nothing that Gregg ever did to her that made her act that way to him. She just wanted to be a jerk, that was the only answer. Nobody would act that way without a purpose. She had to be on a mission to ruin peoples days. She was a bully, that had to be the answer. She didn't even want help with picking the seaweed out of her hair. Who would not want common curtesy? Clearly this girl did not want anyone to be nice to her.

Here, let me help you with that." As he said that he took her hair and picked out a piece of seaweed. She would hate that, it was obvious. If she did not want to just talk she would hate someone doing that. Gregg could care less though. He was determined to at least get some nice words out of this girl. His success was doubtful, but that would not prevent him from trying. Not in the least.

Gregg Linton

Actions/Thinking: 313d8f
Speaking: 076bad
Paranoia: 0d65fc

That did not go exactly as Gregg had wanted it to. But he could not say that it was not expected. If the girl was so rude to him without any reason, why wouldn't she be pissed at him when he touched her hair? It was a gesture that was meant to be nice, but deep down it was meant for much more. He wanted to get her attention. Gregg was not an attention whore, but he liked to be acknowledged. He liked it when he got the least bit of respect, but at that moment he felt like he was getting none. Just the slightest bit, but just nothing. It was truly awful how this girl was bringing his day down.

There was no doubt that she was upset with him. But why. She detested social interaction, that much was obvious. But why would anyone subject themselves to being alone. Who would force that on themselves. Who would want nobody to talk to, nobody to be there when they were upset. Somewhere this girl had to want someone. Otherwise she was destined to spend her life alone; living the remainder of her years lonely with no friends. Gregg could not image doing that himself, he did not need people, but he would hate being alone for life. People were meant to be in two's, not ones, or that is what Gregg had heard some long time ago.

Despite his interest in making this girl pay attention to him, he quickly lifted his hand of the girl who's name he was still not sure of. Why was she not interested in him? He was good looking, even she had to find him attractive. Even if she did not want to admit it she had to find something that told her Gregg was attractive. There had to be something, if there was not then she clearly did not like people in the least. Trying to figure her out was a pain in the ass for Gregg. She was bitchy and then she was angry. How was this supposed to go on. Either one of them would have to give up on where they stood, and there was no way in hell it would be Gregg Linton.

Why don't we take a walk. You need some cheering up."

He did not turn though. If he did she would probably dive under the water out of Gregg's sight.

Gregg Linton

Actions/Thinking: 313d8f
Speaking: 076bad
Paranoia: 0d65fc

This whole situation was odd to Gregg. Normally somebody would have cracked by the point that they were at. But no. This girl kept coming with her words, she kept coming back with her insults. It was not exactly as it took down Gregg's morale, but it was somewhat annoying that she could not relate to his interest. It was not too hard to be interested in Gregg, many girls were. Even if those girls were only friends they at least were interested in him. It was not okay that she was being so rude to him. He had to change it, soon.

Clearly this girl did not want him around, but this just made Gregg want to be around more. He was starting to realize that she was really attractive, a quality that both of them shared. Gregg did like being surrounded by beautiful people. He did not have to worry about others staring at him while they were just as good to stare at. His gaze never did waver from this girl though, she was more of a mystery to him than a beauty. Though only now was he actually seeing her. Maybe she was leading her on or something like that. Girls could be very confusing all of the time, he was sure that she might have been taking to him. But it was very hard to get a read on this girl.

"Why would I go over there? If I did then I would be farther away from you..."

In hindsight, Gregg realized that maybe what he just said was not the smartest thing. The girl was not taking any hints that he liked her before, so why would he put it out there that he was interested in her. Did he actually say that he liked her? Thinking back he realized that he did not, he just said that he wanted to be around her now. There was no reason to take it back though. He had meant what he said. She did have some sort of aura about her. Something that Gregg could not put his finger on quite yet. Maybe if he learned her name it would help. But by the way she was acting finding her name would take quite a bit of time.

As Gregg slid his sandals off he wondered if she was going to throw them into the ocean. Of course that would not be a very nice thing, and he'd have to go get them, but he would not put it past her. Gregg was not in clothes that he normally would swim in, but he lived in District Four. He could swim in anything that he wore. Despite this, he put his shoes down in an orderly fashion. He really did not want to have his clothes get ruined, but he was willing to do so if he had to

Sitting down next to the girl, he made sure to keep a slight distance. He wanted to be close enough to her to make her get that he was not going, but not close enough to anger her. Chances are though, she was already getting upset with what Gregg was doing. She hated people, that much was obvious. Something was there though, he could tell from the way she was talking. There was something in her voice, maybe a twinge of interest. It was very hard for Gregg to tell though, she was too covert with her actions.

"Why don't we start over. I don't think you've told me your name yet?"

Gregg Linton

That was unfortunate. It was like the one thing he had hoped for the girl not to do, she did do. Of course, he had made a point of setting his shoes neatly down, so Gregg could not say that he did not bait her in the least. Still, did she have to be so rude about it? Sure, she did not throw far from the dock, but they still were in the water, now sinking towards the bottom. It was just unfortunate that she had to do this. She was just trying to be an ass at that moment. There was no purpose behind besides the fact that she just wanted to ruin his day. That was not going to happen.

Gregg just sat there for a second, scrutinizing the girl. He was getting somewhere with this girl. It was a start, but it seemed like it took a long time to even get to the point he just reached. Actually getting her name might be a lot harder than getting her to not flip out on him. But she had, in a way at least. She had tossed the one thing he did not want in the ocean in the ocean. It was like she was reading his mind, doing the one thing that he wanted least. Gregg did not believe in religion, but if he did he would have thunk this girl to be a demon. She was not bad in her core, or at least Gregg did not think that she was, she just wanted to be a jerk.

Well... that was unfortunate..." While he spoke his eyes were cast down towards his shoes. They might have been cheap, but they were something the he could keep under his feet. Something to protect him from stray glass or splinters. Now they were at the bottom of the ocean. It was not like it would be hard for him to get the shoes, in fact it would only take him a matter of moments. It was just demoralizing that he would have to go in the water dressed in moderately nice clothes. Gregg's eyes traveled up from the water back onto the girl. He found it quite surprising that he had not noticed her beauty earlier. She probably thought that he was talking to her because of that... he wasn't (the fact that she was pretty did not hurt though).

"I'll tell you my name"

Well that was a start, Gregg actually thought that he was having a breakthrough with this girl. She actually might be finding some good qualities in him. That being said, he still had not found a good quality in her. Sure she was interesting, but she was only interesting because she was being so secretive. Was that a plan though, to entice Gregg. People liked to know things that they did not, especially things about other people. Any person viewing this altercation as a third party would understand that she was manipulating Gregg, but he could not understand that. She probably thought it was comical. "That's a huge step forwards." Stating the obvious, something that she had stated her dislike to. There was nothing else to say though, and sitting quietly was not exactly being personable.

"If you can dive and get your shoes."

Then, what seemed impossible to Gregg, became possible. The girl actually smiled. It was something that Gregg doubted he would ever see. Despite that momentary joy, her smile quickly faded. She was probably thought that Gregg would not be able to get his shoes; then she realized that he would be able to just like every other person in District Four. In fact, he could probably do it better than most people in District Four. he was a young adult in great shape because of his work. He could make her look like a fool. But he did not want to do that in the least. He was making progress with her. That was something that he wanted. He did not want to take all of this work and throw it down the drain.

"I guess your right. What will I ever do to get down there. It's a shame that I'm wearing such nice clothes. Maybe you could do it for me?" Gregg knew that the girl would never get his shoes for him, but what he had said was only a stalling comment. He had to think of a better thing to say than that, and his words had given him the perfect thing to exploit.

"I guess I'll have to strip down and go in naked for them. Wouldn't want to ruin my clothes, right?" He had already started unbuttoning his shirt before he finished the sentence. He did not plan on taking it off yet though, he wanted to give her a few seconds to contemplate what he had just said. In just a few seconds everything had gone from seemingly in her control to into Gregg's. This was his playing field now. He had her on his rope, now there was only so much more reeling to do before Gregg caught the girl.

Gregg Linton

Well, shit, now he had scared her away. All of that work for nothing. Gregg knew that despite her frail looks she could swim for hours without a stop. She obviously was used to swimming, everyone who Gregg knew was. This was just something that came with being from the fishing district. You knew how to swim. Most of the time you also knew how to fight, but in all cases you knew how to swim. The water was your friend if you lived in District Four. She had made that fact clear if anything by diving in. Sure he got what he wanted, he did not have to get wet. But in a sense, he had scared her away.

Gregg was actually surprised when he saw the girl dive in towards his shoes. She was not trying to get away, she was trying to do what Gregg wanted her to do. Something that he thought she would never do. A slight smile cracked Gregg's face, but nobody could see it because it was hidden under his shirt. It did not matter if he was to take his shirt of now, it was not like he actually planned on taking off all his clothes. He just wanted to stay dry, if that made any sense. A boy who loved water wanted to stay dry for one time in his life. Doubtful. He was only facading the real reason with his thoughts; he was worried that she would leave if he dove in.

Pulling his shirt all the way over his head he left his upper body exposed. He may not have been a games trainee, but there were ripping muscles all over his chest and arms. Not the ones that one would see on a body builder, but muscles were clearly there. His biceps, abs, and pectoral muscles were all there. Not to say that he was perfect, but he did have girls speechless every once in a while because of his looks. Sitting back down on the dock he rested his feat in the water; bending and unbending his toes, letting the still somewhat cool tide slip between them. He was relaxed for the first time in ages. Maybe things were starting to go his way.

He had succeeded in getting this girl to do something, but now something was lost. She no longer had to tell him her name, she no longer had any promises to keep. Sure, she looked quite good in her bathing suit, but Gregg was wondering why in hell he came down to the docks in what was close to formal wear. She had dived in probably because of fear, not because of wanting to. She had only done it to get away from Gregg, not because she was nice. It was actually pretty sad, how easily these realizations came to Gregg. He was so happy for guest a few moments and then it had all gone away. A split second and then another failure had come across his mind.

It was not like he could leave right now, he still was waiting on shoes. He did not want to leave anyways though, and he cursed the thought for entering his mind. He found this girl not only hot, but also somewhat interesting. Not many people could say that they had hot and interesting girlfriends. Gregg wanted to be one of those few, lucky people. Why was this girl scared of nudity though? She was his age, she was good looking, despite her awful personality it was likely she had slept with someone before. Probably someone not as good looking as Gregg. It bothered him that she showed not even the slightest interest in him. Not even his stunning muscles. Just frustrating to Gregg.

It was hard to say if he actually wanted this girl in bed with him. If she wanted to than obviously he would say yes. But something felt more than just physical to him about this girl. She had not just opened up to Gregg like a book because he looked good, but it did not seem like she was playing hard to get. The truth was in Gregg's mind that he doubted she even was thinking about these things. Gregg was probably analyzing things too much in reality. But there really was too much to think about to be sure. Everything was not making sense. There were no answers for Gregg, he had to assume. It was not something that he found quite appealing.

When the girl finally resurfaced Gregg did not look to see if she actually had his shoes. They were not the most important thing in the world to him. On the other hand the girl was not important to him yet, well, not very important to him yet, but he was still somewhat confused about her. Instead of looking for her hands (which could have come off as looking at her breasts, not a good idea), Gregg studied her face. Her beauty was not exactly from her curves, it was really her face. He liked that in a women. She was not just an object for sex, she was more a beauty carved in marble. The comparison made sense to Gregg at least.

"I guess I should say thank you. I appreciate what you did, honestly I do." Saying that was the right thing to do; he probably had pissed her off by making her dive in or see him naked. It was not exactly nice of him to give her that choice. The choice was not exactly one of being a bitch or not, it was actually a choice between saying: Fine, I'll listen to you, you win; or: I'm a slut, I like seeing guys who I barely know naked. He put her in a bad situation. What he did was not right. Before she had no reason to be a bitch to Gregg, now she had every reason in the world.

"I'm sorry I left you that choice. It wasn't right. I hope you don't mind me shirtless. It was getting hot. But if you do I'll gladly put me shirt back on." He reached towards the shirt but than stopped his hand. There was a lady in the ocean and he was going to make her climb out with no assistance. That was not the right thing to do by any means. Quickly he reached out his right hand over the side of the dock. He had to make up for being a jerk to her, and this was a start.

"Please, take my hand. I'll help you onto the dock." It was the right thing to do. At least Gregg thought so.

Gregg Linton

She had gotten his shoes for him out of the water, which was actually quite nice of her. Gregg doubted that this girl was capable of being nice and yet she surprised him. Sure his shoes were wet now, but they were flip flops. They would dry off quite soon, obviously. The best thing was that the girl had made up for at least some of her bitchiness. Some of it at least. She still had not given Gregg her name, which kind of annoyed him. He hated thinking of her as a she, since she had a name. Well, he thought she did at least. Who was Gregg kidding, she obviously had a name. Everyone in the districts did, they had to for the Capitol to keep track of them.

The sun was still up in District Four, but there was a breeze that counteracted the heat. Sometimes the weather in the hottest district was odd, April was one of those times in general. The weather always fluctuated up and down. Gregg hated it. He never knew what to wear, jeans? Shorts? Everything about the fourth month was just a pain in the ass. But he could deal with it. Despite the fact that he probably did not need to tan any more, he liked to feel just a bit darker than usual. It was always the style in District Four to be tan. That was something that Gregg would always be able to count on.

Gregg's body had gotten slightly wet when the girl threw his shoes back at him. He was not soaking, but the top of his khaki shorts were slightly wet. They would dry out soon, just like the shoes, but Gregg never was exactly comfortable wearing shorts out of water and being wet. He felt reminded of rain, one of the worst things in District Four. When it rained everything was shut down. The beaches could not be used, nor could the docks. Everything just seemed to stop and take a collective breath. It was pretty bad, there was no way to put food on the table during the time when it rained. No way to do anything but sit inside a classroom and be bored beyond anything.

Placing the shoes carefully a few feet away from his shirt with his left hand, Gregg felt the girl grab onto his hand. He started to pull her up, it would not be hard for him. There was a force trying to stop him though. Not just gravity, but she was pulling against Gregg. Obviously she wanted him in the water. How uncreative. She could have gotten on the dock and pushed him in from behind, but instead she was trying to out muscle him. Was this a calculated move? Did she not want him to be in the water while she was not? Gregg considered this doubtful. She had showed no interest in him so why start now? Her actions were changing though, only a fool would not be able to tell that. He would play along with her for the meantime. Everything was starting to come towards him now, there was noway he would stop that train of success.

"You can put your shirt back on now."

There was no reason in hell he would do that now. Not since he was going into the water anyways. He fainted grabbing for his shirt with his left hand and then slid into the water. The cool of the water surprised him, but he still kept a firm grip on the girls hand. He was not trying to drown her in anyway. He was just trying to keep her around while he went under the water. Gregg easily resurfaced and found the girl next to him. He did not want to insult her, but how could he do that without upsetting her? Since she apparently hated people being happy.

"You're feisty...

I guess that defeated the purpose of you getting my shoes. What a shame. I could have gotten them. I hope it wasn't a burden on you."

He smiled as the last words left his mouth. Hopefully she would understand that Gregg was smiling at her.