First Meetings (Noir)

[captvimes]

Finding an empty bench in Hyde Park wasn't the easiest thing to do on a mid-week lunch time, but some how Aaron managed it.

Slumping down, he pulled a bottle of water and a slightly curling cheese sandwich out of his bad and set them down on the bench beside him. These were then followed by an mp3 player, his pad of paper and loose sheets with this weeks set of really challenging questions. So, pushing the headphones into his ears, Aaron turned on his music, quickly scrolling through the albums to find Blackholes and Revelations, before opening up his pad, re-reading a question, and beginning to answer it using a pen he had just pulled from his pocket.

Lost in the long and complicated problems, the music helping to tune out any unwanted sounds from barking dogs and the like, it only occurred to Aaron to look at his watch when the album had finished. Stretching, he sighed. Two questions finished in nearly an hour, and he wasn't sure that they were completely right. Still, that only left another two, which he was about to start before his stomach gave a protesting growl.

Sighing again, he slid the pad and questions back into his bag and took a bite out of one curling half-sandwich. Pulling a rather displeased face, Aaron knew he only had himself to blame. That's what you get for making sandwiches the night before and forgetting to either cover them or put them in the fridge. The other students hadn't been very happy this morning when they walking into their shared kitchen which now smelt like off cheese.

Putting down the sandwich, Aaron took a sip of water, quite astonished that nobody had sat next to him. It could have been because they wouldn't have wanted to disturb him, but on the other hand, it could quite as well have been that he was sitting right in the middle of the bench and his things were spread out either side of him. Aaron sighed. Oh well, he was used to being alone.

[noir]

The strap of the lap top carrier is starting to hurt her shoulder, so Noir looks around the park for a nice place to sit. This is her first visit London, so it also gave her a chance to stop and think about which direction she's supposed to be going. Like what happens to most tourists who think their sense of direction is great, Noir is rather lost.

She had almost finished her latest vampire thriller, when the evil writer's block pushed off the last bit of creative ability she needed. It probably is cackling in her mind, wherever it sits in there. Noir hopes new surroundings would give some inspiration, and a trip to London seemed pretty nice to her.

There are no benches that aren't occupied. Great. Noir sighs heavily, patting her handy dandy lap top through the black material the carrier is made out of. The only one that didn't seem to have two people or more was just one, and the person sitting there seemed to be using the sitting parts for his belongings. Bucking up some courage, Noir briskly walks over to him, giving a small, pleasant smile. "Um, hello. Could I maybe sit here, if it isn't a bother?"

[captvimes]

Aaron had just taken another bite of his sandwich when the young woman approached him. Looking up at her, he tried to swallow and breath in to reply to her question at the same time, an unfortunate thing to do unless you actually intend to start choking.

Turning away, coughing heavily, Aaron thumped him chest with a fist and thankfully, the coughs soon subsided. Looking up at her again, a faint blush colouring his cheeks this time, Aaron began to scoop up some of his things and slid across the bench to make room. "Sorry. Please, sit down." He said, shoving his mp3 player and his lunch back into his bag, resting it upon his knees.

Taking a sip of water, breathing freely now, he sat back on the bench and gave a sigh, which gave him bag just the opportunity to slid off of his lap and onto the floor. Unfortunately, a sight breeze caught hold of one of his sheets of questions that had been shaken loose by the fall. "No! Not my questions!" Aaron groaned, jumping up and chasing the piece of A4 as it danced in the air in front of the bench, managing to evade his grasp every time.

Eventually, the world's cruel sense of humour made it land upon his bag. Gritting his teeth, Aaron now realised that there were several pairs of eyes watching him. "Stupid bloody wind!" He muttered to himself, slumping back onto the bench and hunched up his shoulders. He had just danced about like some kind of berk in Hyde park at the busiest time, and to make it worse, there happened to be a pretty girl sitting right in front of him as he did so.

"Sorry about that. It's just I can't afford to lose those questions." He explained, smiling sheepishly and still blushing a little. Attempting to grab onto a different thread of conversation, hopefully she wouldn't like him too much of a twit to talk to him, Aaron burbled on. "I'm Aaron. You're American aren't you? I noticed the accent."

[noir]

Noir nods her thanks before sitting down, sliding her lap top bag off her shoulder with a relieved sigh. After rubbing her neck briefly, she pulls out her black, glossy computer and turns it on. Noir crosses one leg over the other casually, looking up when he started chasing his papers. Her eyes follow him as he runs around, and despite herself, she giggles. Noir lifts one of her slender hands up to hide it, so she wouldn't be rude. She thought it was pretty cute the way he seemed to get embarrassed easily, and some how ends up blushing a bit herself at her thoughts. Noir looks down to the glowing screen of her lap top, opening up a Microsoft Word document as she hears a voice speaking to her. Looking up, it's the boy, returned with his paper.

"Ah, yeah, you've discovered my status of tourist. My name's Noir, nice to meet you," Noir holds out a hand to him, smiling a little wider.

[captvimes]

"That's an unusual name." Aaron said, giving a lop-sided grin and shyly scratching the back of his neck. He then took her hand and shook it, but he couldn't stop her eyes drifting to her laptop. Leaning a fraction closer, he peered at her screen, eyes quickly scanning the text that was displayed before quickly drawing back.

Putting his bag in between them, Aaron pulled up his legs so that his feet, encased in their Vans, were on the bench and he could rest his arms on his knees. He was about to start speaking again, but stopped himself before any sound had left his mouth. Biting his lip, self-consciously, Aaron managed to work up the nerve to speak and then did so before he bottled it again.

"Excuse me, I don't mean to be nosy... I mean, I know it's not really any of my business... but what is it that you're writing about?" This streak of curiosity was not normally something that Aaron could disguise very well, and it had got him into a hell of a lot of trouble in the past. But still, his interest couldn't help but sit up and pay attention as soon has he had read the word, 'Vampire', in her document.

[noir]

She laughed quietly, nodding a bit as she curled her fingers up onto the keyboard. "I get that alot," She smiles, before looking back to her computer. Noir sighs heavily at the machine, as if she were having an argument with it, and the lap top was winning. The writer's block wasn't just cackling now, it was tap dancing all over her creative flow. She runs a hand through her long hair, then absently mindedly fiddles with the collar of her light gray blouse.

Noir had noticed him leaning toward her and then straighten up in the corner of her eye, making her self consciously wonder if something was wrong with her appearence. But then he spoke, and she looked to him, tucking her hair behind an ear. "Hm? Oh, this?" Noir gestures to the writing, and taps the keys of the computer gently. "I do a little writing, so this is just the draft I'm working on, is all. I'm an author," Her face tints snowy pink, and she looks away for a moment. "You've probably never heard of my stuff, it's pretty unknown."

That pesky wind comes back soon, and blows Noir's hair into her face. She takes a hair tie from off her wrist and quickly pulls her wild locks into a semi-messy bun.

[captvimes]

A small light behind Aaron's eyes lit up. Even though he was a self confessed maths geek and in his spare time hacked into security systems for information, he had a hidden love for books. Some information was really best to get from the library. But also, he liked the smell of new books, and keeping them perfect, even after being read. It was possible, and also one of his little OCD's.

"Really? An author? That must be a fun occupation." Aaron commented, really itching to know more. He hoped that Noir believed and knew about vampires, since he caught the word in the skimming of her document. He was still yet to find another human who knew about vampires and werewolves but were interested by them, and not terrified. Perhaps Noir might be one. It would be nice. At least he wouldn't have to try to talk to his uni friends about them any more. They already thought that the maths this year was sending him barmy.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what's this draft about? I'm interested now." And he smiled at her, trying to show that he wasn't about to take the mickey out of whatever answer she gave.

[noir]

"It's pretty cool, and it definitely puts bread on the table," Noir tries the mouse to her lap top, a finger on the small touch pad. "What do you do? If you don't think that's a nosy question."

It's always been a problem for her, moving around the arrow on a lap top. She makes a note to self: get a regular mouse to attach. After a silent adventure of getting the little white arrow to the 'X' at the top of her document, Noir pauses and looks over to Aaron. It isn't very often people ask her about her work, and if they do, people end up thinking she's depressed or something. So Noir looks hesitant to speak at first, then half smiles. He looked kind of eager to hear, so maybe his reaction wouldn't be too bad. "Well, I write about...you might think it's silly, but I write about...um...vampires."

When Noir says the word 'vampires', her voice gets a bit quieter, and she looks back to her computer in a shy, unsure way.

[captvimes]

"I don't actually really 'do' anything. I'm a student." Aaron explained. "I'm studying mathematics at Imperial College. It's one of the colleges of the University of London." "Telling her you study maths, what a brilliant idea!" He then thought sarcastically to himself. He just hoped that she wasn't going to cringe on him at all. Despite not being very sociable, Aaron had noticed by now that most people tried to run away at the first mention on the subject.

"No it's not. That's not silly at all!" Aaron said, his voice enthusiastic in response to her answer. Putting his feet back on the ground, he straightened his legs in front of him, about to pull a notebook from his pocket. "I have loads of notes about them, if you needed to know more about them...and werewolves too...!" Suddenly though, it seemed to dawn upon him that he was enthusing about this, quite loudly, to an almost complete strangers who might not even think that they are real, and who might advise him to admit himself to the nearest mental institution.

"Sorry. Got a bit carried away." He mumbled, chewing on his bottom lip in an embarrassed way. Shoving the notebook back into his pocket without opening it, Aaron stood, picking up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. "I'll leave you in peace." He ran a hand nervously through his untidy hair, making even more of it stick out at odd angles, already kicking himself for being such a blatherer. "It was nice to have met you, Noir." And Aaron went to walk away.

[noir]

"Math, eh? I bet you're good at it, then," Noir smiles wider, staring at the glowing computer screen. "I can barely add fractions."

Noir jumps at his sudden, energetic response and looks over to him with her eyebrows raised, half grinning. She certainly hadn't expected that response, and it sort of made her giddy to get such a positive reaction. Noir blinks at Aaron at the mention of notes, and then nods eagerly. "Oh, notes? I think I have a few on me too! We can compare them!" She giggles quietly, beginning to rummage through her lap top carrier. Noir never thought she would find anyone so eager about her small obsession as she was, so it made her pretty happy.

She looks back up at Aaron, slowly closing her bag again. "Oh...do you have to leave?" She blushes, looking away for a moment, then back to him. "I would love to talk to you more." Her face turns a tad redder. Aw, I probably chased him off. Great, Noir thinks, slumping her in seat.

[captvimes]

Looking back over his shoulder, now feeling rather guilty, Aaron watched her sit back but he didn't walk off. He simply stood there, quite pathetically, for several seconds before decided to sit back down. "I don't have to go yet... I'm sorry, I've become so used to people thinking I'm some kind of maniac when I start talking about vampires and werewolves as if they exist. I just got kind of ahead of myself."

Putting his bag onto the ground in between his feet, Aaron pulled out his notebook properly now and opened it. Nearly all the pages were full of short-handed, messy, half-illegible pencil scribblings. Offering Noir the book, Aaron contemplated telling her what he knew. She didn't seem to be the sort of girl to completely freak, and he really didn't want to be called a "raving nutter" again.

Plucking up the courage, Aaron scooted a little closer to her, blushing at the proximity even though there was still a respectable gap between them. Leaning in, he whispered, "They're real you know... Vampires. They really are. And werewolves... I seen them, and spoken to them, honestly."

Sitting back up straight, Aaron swallowed nervously, still half expecting her to push him away and run for it.

[noir]

Noir's face brightens considerably when he sits back down. Her posture straightens up, and she closes her lap top with a light snap noise coming from it, confirming the machine to be properly shut. She stuffs it in her bag, pulling out rather abused, crumpled papers and napkins that had been written on in dark blue ink. Noir blushes a bit, laughing nervously. "Heh...I write my notes on impulse."

She takes the notebook gently, smiling just as carefully. "Thanks." Her index finger traces underneath the words as she reads, her gray eyes seeming to light up within themselves as her interest grew. As Aaron moves closer, her cheeks fade pink and her hand freezes on the notebook paper. But at the whisper, her entire being tenses up. Noir looks over to him, her widening eyes scanning his face, looking for signs that he was trying to mock her or something. Yet she could find none.

"...pardon me? I couldn't hear you," Noir says quietly. I probably heard him wrong. She thinks to herself, feeling her heart pick up it's pace. That mostly only happened when she was on the verge of discovering something, like when she follows people and observes them when she notices they are different from everyone, with a supernatural air most don't have.

[captvimes]

Chewing his bottom lip again, Aaron's face fell, as did, seemingly, his entire body. His shoulders dropped, he slumped back on the bench and slid down the seat. "I said that werewolves and vampires are real." He mumbled, not looking at Noir anymore but instead, biting his almost non-existent fingernails.

Sitting up again, he sighed heavily and looking away ashamedly, he held out his hand for his notebook. Admittedly, there was some very interesting stuff in there, the contents comprising of about three years worth of research and field work, and almost half of it done on his own.

"You know what? It doesn't matter. I knew you wouldn't believe me. I had hoped, but... nah, what's the point? I'm just the geeky, Billy No-Mates with paranoid loony tendancies... who's going to believe me." Aaron sounded half annoyed and half sad. If only his best friend was here, but he was most probably dead as far as Aaron knew. Farkas had always believed him, and he'd had good reason to, for Aaron's best friend had been a werewolf.

[noir]

Noir stares at Aaron for a few minutes, then leans forward while handing him his notebook back. She was rather impressed by the information, having thought that he had made up everything as she had done with her own. Except, alot of things in her own notes are true; her observations told her many things. Noir is very hesitant to speak, seeing him look upset. She couldn't have helped but be surprised though, it wasn't everyday someone told her vampires and werewolves were real. It's even rarer that someone didn't look like they were lying while saying that.

"You say...you've spoken to them...?" She asks slowly. Her thin hand reaches out and touches his arm. "Aaron, are you being serious with me? ...really?"

[captvimes]

Taking back his notebook, Aaron rammed it back into the pocket of his jeans. It was at times like this when he really missed his friend, someone who he could talk to about absolutely anything.

Having drifted off into his own little world, Aaron jumped when a touch on his arm brought him sharply back to the present. "What...?" It took him a moment to realise what Noir had just said. "Oh, of course I'm being serious with you. My best friend was one for goodness sake! Why would I bother to lie to perfect stranger about something like this? What would be the point of it?" Pinching the bridge of his nose between his index finger and thumb, Aaron almost laughed at the absurdity of it.

"I had perhaps thought that you might have already known. With you making notes, I just presumed that you might have been..." He trailed off, not finishing with 'like me' as he had been about to. Pausing, Aaron sighed once more. "That was three years work you just read through." He murmured, staring unseeingly at the tree that was across the path from them.