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 Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 7:14 pm
"Nope. Kids tended ta avoid the girl who looked like a walkin' accident victim. Ah mean, Ah think Ah got cards when everybody had ta get 'em? Otherwise around the holiday people would dare one 'nother ta ask me out. That was mostly in high school, Ah was some kind'a punishment game." Ofelia was already starting to measure stuff out, not really thinking to hard on it. The first time she made them she needed to look at a recipe, the second time too, but for now she just sort of could do it all by memory. It was amazing, she was amazing.
Ofelia started stirring after getting things together, moving quicker than she expected, and she passed the bowl over to Melvin. "Here, stir this. Ah'mma get stuff out ta make the chocolate we'll use, an' then we'll figure out molds ta set." The bowl was already going, all Melvin had to do was keep moving things. "When it starts ta clump up an' get hard ta stir yer doin' good." Ofelia said she'd help, sure, but she never said she was doing all the work. That was almost rude to expect.
"Yanno, one year a the party, in grade school, they locked me an' this boy in a closet. Told him if he wanted out he had ta kiss me." Ofelia sorted through some cocoa powders, glancing over a few labels. "We stayed in there for two hours wit' him cryin' the whole time. Ended up bein' let out by the teacher, everyone said it was mah fault." She paused and suddenly looked up. "Huh, Ah'd forgotten 'bout that. Hah, the things ya recall." A sigh and a slow headshake. "How 'bout ya? Ya go ta dances an' have cards an' stuff?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 7:40 pm
"You shouldn't take took much stock in what kids do in high school. They can do some horrible things just to feel like they fit in. In the end, they just do everything they can do to hope their peers will accept them and not think they are a freak. If some popular person labelled you badly, it didn't mean you were a bad person. They just needed a target, and that means no one else would want to be around you or else they'd suffer for it. It's nothing against you, just striving to fit in. That's the ultimate goal of school I think." He took the bowl. "Being normal."
He survived high school by lying as much as he could. He just had to act normal, be kind, have normal friends, and try to bite his lip as hard as he could whenever a shadow moved in the corner of his eye or say he had to go to the bathroom and breath deep when it got too much for even him. There was medication, there were well lit places to go, and there were ways to excuse yourself if you couldn't come to a party late at night.
Stirring, he thought of his own Valentines. "From what I hear, everyone here had to deal with being thought of as a freak. I think some people handled it more poorly thank others, and I think other people had no real friends."
The dark haired other came to mind, speaking to him about the people around him. Prince of Enemies....
He shook his head a moment before he continued to stir with a bit more vigor. "I gave out cards during elementary, and there were dances during high school, but high school dances were just places to hang out to very loud music and to watch drama unfold. Dated around the holiday too." He remembered his ex from college, and continued to stir.
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 7:57 pm
".....you dated someone?" Ofelia seemed a little more than shocked and she just sort of stared at Melvin. She hadn't considered him sexless, a healthy guy who often told her to put clothing on certainly had to have had interest in someone, yet it still was a little....taking aback. "Huh. That's.....really kinda cool." Ofelia felt a little proud that Melvin told her something personal....ish? It was a start at least. "An' yeah, Ah kinda fi'gur'd by mah senior year people at mah school were asses - Ah mean, we all grew up tagether an' they still liked ta be cruel ta me. Ah guess sometimes humans are more scar - okay stop stirrin', yer gonna fluff it."
Ofelia had to reach over and sort of pull the bowl back. The contents inside looked really well done, stirring cookie batter wasn't that hard at all, and the teen frowned. "Okay, this stuff needs ta cool down b'for we can properly work wit'it, so while its chillin' we can make some chocolate, okay? Ah'll make some an' ya make some so we both can say we did it, an' Rep can shut up." She had no idea why Rep needed to shut up but Melvin had said it so maybe a dare? She really needed to listen more to what he was saying.
"An' oh, ya asked 'bout Jake earlier, right? He's mah little brother." Totally not, but Ofelia was rolling with it.
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 8:23 pm
He looked back at her as she was more than shocked by what he said. "Yes, I dated people. It's not that shocking. I'm a man after all." He said, finding it annoying that people seemed to be so surprised whenever he mentioned he had anything close to a sex drive. His reputation as a cold robot with no drive for anything physical satisfying was beginning to take hold. It wasn't a good thing.
"Certainly someone of my age." He said, adding on to what he said. Of course when he said dated, he didn't and how few people he actually spent more than one day with, and that those few that he managed to be past a day with had not ended nicely.
"Jake's your brother? I thought he was that guy you said you might be interested in. Didn't know you even had a brother. Where was he hiding when you were in a barn being beaten up?" He asked, watching her.
"Oh, and how do we do chocolate?" He added as an afterthought.
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 8:37 pm
"Well it's clear yer a man, ya keep tellin' me ta put clothes on an' such. Jus'...never really took ta fer the datin' type, ya seem more like the kind ta keep ta yer studies." Ofelia shrugged. "Nothin' wrong wit' that." Dating huh? Must have been really nice. She would have been a little jealous if she had anything to compare it to.
"An' yeah Ah've got an older brother back home, but s'not Jake - he's younger 'en me Ah...think? Jake's also a random kid who came outta the pods, pissed me off, an' then got placed inta a coma 'cause he wouldn't shut his goddamn mouth. ********> The plastic bottle Ofelia was holding in her hand was completely crushed by her grip, the contents spilling out and over her fingers. "Ah, oops." She looked down, pleased to at least see she hadn't ruined something that would be super vital for their cooking project. "Jake's also not the guy Ah'm interested in, considerin' he hates mah guts. Ah'm not that much'a a masochist ta be in love wit' someone who hates me." She grinned, weakly. "An' mah older brother...dunno where he was most of the time. Ah've told ya that b'for already so why are ya askin'? An' Ah'm also not gonna tell ya the name of the guy Ah like 'cause yer gonna mock the s**t outta me an' then drill me on why Ah like him."
The redhead was moving to the sink to wash her hands, the oil from the crushed bottle clinging to her skin and making it rather gross. She wouldn't be able to hold anything at this rate. "An' makin' chocolate is easy. We jus' need milk an' cocoa powder, plus butter an' water an' flour...." She ran a list of things off from memory as she tried to clean the oil off.
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 9:22 pm
He tried to organize all the things she was listing in front of him, having to pick it up and read what it was before setting it back down. There were a lot of ingredients to baking, and while he understood it was a type o chemistry, his knowledge of science in no way helped him here.
"I already knew about your older brother. I was just confused when you said Jake was your brother too. I think I remember him. Wasn't he the loud mouth during our mission to the abandoned hotel?" He thought he now remembered him and agreed that that guy was a true a*****e. A young punk who needed hit across the head and told he wasn't king of the roost.
"Why won't you tell me about the person you like? Have you told anyone else or talked to anyone about it? Have you even tried hitting on him a little to see if he's interested in you?" He asked, picking up a brown box and seeing it was cocoa powder before setting it down with the flour and butter.
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 9:55 pm
"Yeah, Ah brought him along on that." Ofelia dried her hands on a towel and looked them over. They were still a little oily but it wasn't too bad and thankfully making chocolate wouldn't requite much. It would be fun to try, she hadn't made chocolate in a long time but the ingredients always stayed in her head. Yay for memories? "Ah sort'a adopted him on, ta prevent Rep from rippin' the kid's head off. He went an' insulted moons, which, yanno. Suicide." Ofelia really didn't know if those two had met up again but considering she was the one to bloody Jake up first they hadn't bumped heads.
When Melvin rattled off a list of things Ofelia thought about it. "Ah did talk ta Sasha 'bout it...an' then ended up gettin' ta second base with Lex?" For some reason the redhead felt no shame admitting it. "Ah brought him muffins an' he felt me up, kinda weird. He's been avoidin' me ever since, kinda what Ah assumed would happen." Why was Ofelia speaking as though getting felt up and everything else was common place? Her cheeks weren't even red and she was just getting some of the other items together for the chocolate. First though she had to place the dough int he fridge (check!) and go from there. Melvin was getting the other items.
"Ah...also never really though 'bout hittin' on him? The guy Ah like, that is. Ah'm...honestly jus' content bein' at his side, an' like Ah said ....there's someone else in his heart. S'not my place ta pry my way in, it...it would be rude."
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 10:09 pm
He was confused that Ofelia would fluster at being called pretty, but admit without any real color that she was felt up by Lex. Part of him wanted to tell her to be concerned about what sort of reputation she might be creating, but considering the girl was trying to learn more about what she liked, it probably was considered progress. That and he really didn't want to know about who was doing what with her body. One one side she wasn't modest at all, and yet on the other side she seemed very shy. It was all rather confusing.
When she admitted that she liked someone but wasn't going to go after him because it was rude to step in when there might be another person involved, he bite his lip quickly to keep him from laughing, but failed anyways.
"Rude?! Are you kidding me?! You are not going to get anyone if you are content to stand in a friend zone all your life. If you want to be with someone, you need to grow some b***h claws and elbow your way in especially around other women. You better claim some guy as your own instead of letting someone else take them or else you'll be left with the bottom barrel guys or just not getting any. You really need to just take what you want instead of just watching someone else doing it. How are you going to feel when someone just hangs with this guy you like while you just stand by his side? That's just a miserable place. You aren't getting any younger and our lives aren't that long. For a Sun, you need to get a bit more aggressive on the dating battlefield." He said, shaking his head.
"You really haven't been around enough women to know that they are some really vindictive ones out there that will cut a girl just to get her boyfriend." Melvin had seen some amazing catfights in his time. Not over him of course, but he had had some really impressive friends.
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 10:26 pm
"Melvin. Ah'm scarred an' ugly. Ah'm missing an eye, have a loud an' annoying accent, an' have no concept'a anythin'." The supplies were set out and Ofelia didn't bother looking up as she separated them to what would be needed for each step. "Ah'm likely to die before Ah turn twenty an' Ah got nothin' to offer except for stupidity. Ah thought we already went over that when we first met." She looked at one of the items.
"This cocoa powder will go bad soon, we should really use it." Her voice remained steady as she talked poorly about herself though one of her hands faintly trembled. It was always okay to talk about herself, she always knew where she stood with herself. It was when someone else said something in a more positive light that always made her nervous. Things like compliments, or words of praise. It always drove her into a corner because words she should have heard growing up were few and far between. "Didja get out the butter? Make sure it's actual butter an' not margarine." A pause. "There's a difference so read the label."
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 10:39 pm
Melvin wanted to take a spoon and hit Ofelia over the head.
You could shoot her. that would work better than a spoon.
I'm not shooting her. Though it sounded very tempting. I don't think abusing a girl who's been abused will get messages across.
He moved over to where she was mixing and watched her, making sure he stood in such a way so he could look her in the face. Eye contact had been something he learned from his father.
"Ofelia, EVERYONE is scarred here. No hunter cares about that at this point. I've heard a lot of people are rather proud of it. Second, there are lots of people I've seen here missing fingers and whole hands and ears. That's common here. As for an accent, some people consider those things endearing, and you're not ugly." He set the butter down on the counter next to her along with the cocoa.
"You only speak of yourself in negatives. No one is ever going to love you if you can't love yourself." As much as a clique after-school-special saying that it was, it still held true. "You can't ever expect to someone to be with you if all you can say is bad things about yourself. First off, you're convincing yourself you're worthless without giving yourself a chance. Secondly, you'll only hurt yourself by convincing everyone around you that you aren't worth a damn."
"Instead, you need to think you are hot s**t. That's what I do." He smiled at her in a joking fashion. "I have my faults, but I'm not in the least bit a worthless piece of trash only good for filling a grave." Well, he had plenty of faults, but a lot of people in Deus Ex really helped him feel like top shelf material at times.
"List the good things about you instead. Each and every time you start to list the bad, use that same breath to instead list the good. Got it? First good thing about you. You can cook really well." He looked at her, and then reaching for a wooden spoon, pointed it to her mouth like a microphone. "You're turn. Come on."
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 11:04 pm
"Pffft, yes mother, whatever you say mother." Listening to Melvin was like listening to the guidance councelor at school, the one who kept swearing they had her best interests in mind until she overheard them talking. Granted it could have been someone else talking about something else but needless to say Ofelia didn't go back again.
She was about to move on and just cook when suddenly a spoon was in her face and she was supposed to say something nice about herself. Ofelia totally blanked for a moment before just tossing something out there. "Ah can seriously take damage an' keep movin'?" No, not quite. What did she like about herself? "Ah've got big boobs."
....Ofelia was proud of her boobs, okay.
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 11:10 pm
"If I was a mother, I'd be hitting you with a spoon instead." He informed her promptly before she gave her answer. Two compliments. He didn't expect that, but fully supported it. Whatever she was proud of would do.
Turning the spoon back to him, he thought a moment. "You're reliable. Whenever I need help, I can ask you." He turned the spoon back on her. "Your turn." Yes, we were playing this game, Ofelia. You had to say a few more before Melvin would be content to stop.
Melvin wasn't a mother as Ofelia had thought. Nope. He was a big brother, and like all his own siblings knew, that was sometimes much worse.
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Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 11:19 pm
Ofelia sort of blushed at Melvin's compliment though she tried to keep her face neutral. "Hittin' me wouldn't do much, Ah'm a sucker fer pain." That didn't sound very good at all so Ofelia pressed on. She was still gathering things together and was trying to run how to do it in her mind when the spoon came to her face again.
So far Melvin had said she was an excellent cook and was reliable. Ofelia had said on her own part she had big boobs and could take damage. What else was really good about her? "Ah can keep a secret."
Could she really? Well, sort of? No one told her anything so she could assume keeping her own secrets was a good thing.
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 7:20 am
"Oh can you?" He said to her admission, turning the spoon back to him as he watched her. "And what secrets have people been telling you, I wonder." He said, considering Ofelia pretty much admitted that she didn't know too many people. Considering how much she seemed to hate herself, she wondered what friends she did have.
Letting the spoon hover a moment, he continued. "You've made it to being a Full Hunter. Not everyone does that, and even though you think you are going to die any day now, you proved that you haven't. So right now you have both power and experience in your friend." He turned the spoon back to her. He felt one last compliment would make a nice enough list to convince her she wasn't a waste of space.
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 6:47 pm
"Yes. There are many things ya don't know an' won't know." Ofelia looked at Melvin and maybe blinked, maybe winked. She was wearing her eye patch because kitchen and germs and fancy things. "Maybe one day Ah'll tell ya, but ya gotta tell me sommin' jus' as important first."Ofelia didn't have secrets, or maybe she did. Perhaps she was just playing an amazing round of poker-faced lying but no one would need to know. The spoon came back to her and Ofelia sighed, trying to figure something out. "Ah very seldom lose mah temper?" Was that a good thing? Melvin's comment about her surviving certainly had a nice outlook to it.
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