Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Oh." Maebe turned her gaze down, examining her nails. "It's not hard, you know. You're making it hard. But to care takes up so much energy. Aren't you tired, right now?" Her eyes gazed up at him through her eyelashes. "You look tired. And look at me? You know I could go all night." Her lips pursed in a smirk that - for once - held no sarcasm. She was helping him.

"You've really got to learn to let it go. Like, everything that doesn't matter. I'm sure there are still things that matter to you, just like there are things that matter to me. Whenever something else is pissing you off, or riling you up, or getting you down, just remind yourself of what matters. Suddenly, people like me don't affect you."

Her movements were sudden, hands resting on his shoulders to turn him to face her. They snaked over to wrap around his neck intimately. Her body pressed flush against him, in a lovers embrace.

"Try it." She whispered. "Try it right now. I dare you."

Maebe's expression flashed with something close to anger, but it faded before it could ever blossom. Instead, her eyes lidded heavily as she glared up through her eyelids. At best, she looked irritated for how dumb he was.

"Not. Caring."

She couldn't help but find that response just a little enticing. "Well. I like that you care about that. I mean don't get angry. You can be turned on all you like, though. I promise I won't bite."

Another lie.

He was doing a horrible job of not caring, and Maebe was enjoying it far too much. She felt like she was being given a free pass to do her worst, and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity for as long as it lasted. She wanted to see how far he would go.

"We could go back to my room, if you want." Her lips lifted in a smile too innocent for the words she was saying. "See how long you can last."

The pause before she spoke again was pregnant with meaning.

"Before you start to care again."

There was a difference between learning not to care, and learning to control your primal urges. Maebe did not want him to learn the last one - she would give anything to see him lose that particular sort of control.

"I have been called many things, by many people, Otto." Her voice had lost the sultry smoothness of seduction. She was just speaking to him frankly. "But a tease should never be one of them. I'm surprised at how many boys need to be reminded that women like sex. Let me assure you, just as I assured them - I do not let my personal feelings get in the way of getting laid. If for some strange reason you managed to set aside your standards to take me up on the offer, I can promise you. I am not a tease."

But just as she was with Noah, she was confident Otto's answer would always be no. And that was just as it should be, despite how important it always was for her to be clear about her intentions.

"You know what, though?" Her lips twisted up in something that almost looked like pride. "You did manage to stop caring enough to let me lie on you like this without flipping out. Maybe there's hope for you after all, sweetheart."

"If that's what you really want." She murmured, slowly disentangling herself. "But I can't help you learn to stop trying so hard, if you don't let me give you a little practice." Her eyes might have flickered down his body at the tail end of her sentence. Distracted.

"And, I can't help you, if I leave you alone forever. But I did promise. So.." Her eyes focused hard, and narrowed, up into his own. "It's up to you. Is this the end for us, Otto? Will our story never get it's happily ever after?"

She always did think she was meant to be a Prince Charming.

Otto: 0
Maebe: Score.

The smile that lifted her entire face looked a little too happy to be hers. "I probably am as annoying as you thought. But you are getting better at tolerating people. Which is good.. because I really don't want to stop." Her hand reached out and fiddled playfully with his collar. Her lip disappeared, bitten playfully behind her teeth, as she edged just a little closer. Not quite pressed against him, but just enough to feel the brush of her shirt against his. A subtle reminder of presence.

"We should build up your tolerance levels slowly. Maybe, some other time. Maybe, somewhere private."

Her smile disappeared, and her fingers stopped fiddling with his collar. Her hand fell flat against the hollow of his neck, just lying there. Something had changed. It was subtle, and slow, but still tangible. She'd stopped trying to seduce him for a moment.

"Slowly." She repeated, as a reminder. Though, to whom, it was unclear.