[BP] My one and only (Lucas x Effie) fin

[Iris_virus]

-Lucas was a player. Everyone knew it, everyone accepted it. He was like a girl, shopping through a rack of beautiful sweaters on sale. Each girl had something beautiful and different, each had their own thing that made them pleasant in his eyes.

There was one girl however... that held a place in the jerk's heart. And that girl was the ever so sweet Euphemia Argyros.

What she'd seen in him one could only guess, but the fact that she'd tolerated him, hell, even seemed to LIKE him in some strange way was an enigma to most. It made her an endearing angel to him.

Strolling down the second floor hallway, he paused by the familar door, lingering at his ex's enterance.

He'd screwed up. It wasn't likely he'd change.. it was too ingrained in him. But... man sometimes he missed her. His girl curled up in his arms while he played through his newest game. Even recreating that scene from that stupid Ghost movie in attempts to draw her away from her pottery throwing.

His fingers touched the door gently, surprised when it creaked and began to swing open.-  

[Mriae]

Euphemia hadn't noticed the door opening ever so slightly.

She wasn't even facing the door when Lucas began to open it. Her back was to it, and there she sat in front of the mirror applying a nude shade of lipgloss. The girl always seemed to have makeup on, regardless of the situation (except for maybe when she slept, of course). Then again, that was probably one of the reasons people, especially the guys, kept looking at her. Everyone loved a pretty face, even if they were too shallow to admit it.

As she sat in front of her vanity, Effie's thoughts drifted to Lucas.

He'd screwed up.

Last year, right before school had gotten out, was when their relationship started to go down hill. That had been the worst time in her life. It was when she caught him with...with her - that sleazy girl from the chess team that everyone claimed was a sweet, innocent angel. Angel; ha! Oh, Euphemia wanted to throw one of the huge bowls she had made at that girl so bad when she caught them, and at Lucas, too. How could he do that to her? That...that jerk!

Then again...even though she wouldn't admit it outloud, she had missed his company over the summer.

It was a rough transition, going from being in a relatively good relationship to being completely single after only a few months. If it weren't for her family to keep her occupied, Euphemia knew in the back of her mind that she would have been lonely the entire summer. Just that thought alone was enough to make anyone depressed. She wouldn't have been able to handle it without all the distractions of home.

...And yet, there she was again, back for another year at Barren Pines.

It was all too familiar. Everything at the school, in some way, ended up reminding her of him. Thoughts and questions kept replaying over and over again in her mind: had she, she wondered, made the right choice in coming back to school for the fall?  

[Iris_virus]

-He didn't mean to be busting in really.. but if the door was open.

And there was Effie, poised in that chair as she worked that magic she did, highlighting her face in the prettiest ways. He'd always been amazed how she could excentuate one place more than other like she did. One day making it appear as if her lips were the most beautiful and tempting thing he'd ever seen. The next making her eyes like the deepest pools.

He couldn't help himself, he was already strolling in, fingers across the furniture as he drew in closer, words lifting in attempts to grab her attention before he scared the bejesus out of her in the mirror.-

"Ahhhh... my Greecian goddess. You already outshine all those other sculptures."

"You shouldn't spend your whole day preening."  

[Mriae]

"And you shouldn't spend your days sneaking into other people's rooms," she retorted curtly.

Now that she was through with using her lipgloss, she carefully grabbed the cap to the tube and twisted it back on. She then whirled around in her chair in order to face her male companion, a dissatisfied expression plastered on her face. It was obvious she was still hurt over what had happened the previous year, and had no intentions of dropping the subject anytime soon.

"Don't you "Greecian goddess" me, either. That isn't going to work this time."

Oh, Lucas had a way with words. His use of flattery and the way he whispered sweet-nothings into an ear could make a girl fall to her knees. But none of that was going to work with her this time; she would make sure of it! The incident with the chess girl had been the last straw for Effie. She was through with having her emotions tugged around and toyed with as if they were some sort of toy. It was pathetic the way he did that to women with no concern for their feelings at all.

"What do you want now, Lucas? You have some nerve coming in here, you know."  

[Iris_virus]

-He was proud of himself when he'd come up with that little pet name, thrilled that he'd found some way to incorperate things about her and make it seem all the more sweet then the usual "pumpkin" or "honey" that most couples used.-

"The door was open" -Was his immediately response, but he soon found himself back peddaling even more. To see the less then pleased look on her face left him less then pleased.-

"Oh.. come on Effie. Don't be that way"

-His fingers soothed the crinkles in his tshirt nervously, before he moved even closer to her again, trying to find something to change her expression. Lucas knew he'd messed up by upsetting her. And though.. he somehow lacked the empathy and realization to realize how to fix it and that it was TOTALLY his fault, he wanted to atleast try to sooth things a bit now that he was here. He crouched, placing a hand on her knee as he brought his massive 6'1 down to her seated 5'6. She'd always been like such a doll.-

"I just wanted to see that you were okay. Settling back into the dorms and stuff..."  

[Mriae]

The concept of personal space was a department in which Lucas was sorely lacking. Her face only seemed to darken more when he placed a hand on her knee, which she promptly pushed off with a softened hand. If there was one thing that got to her, anything aside from his pitiful expression of unhappiness when she pushed him away, it was when he touched her. The simple act of just physically being held in someone else's arms was something she had missed so much, but there was no way she going to give him the satisfaction of doing that to her now.

It was over. Their relationship was done, and it was all his fault.

"I'm fine," she told him, slipping out of her chair and moving over to her bed. By the way she was acting, it was clear that she wanted to be as far away from him as possible. Best not to push it. If she was too close, Effie knew that she would fall right into his trap just like he expected. "And you can say, look or do whatever you want, but that doesn't mean I'll forgive you. I'm telling you that right now." Why did he have to show up like this? It was if he knew that she had had him on her mind for the duration of the summer break. Annoyed, she climbed into her bed and found herself getting under the covers - head and all. This place was her safe haven. Nothing could touch her here, not even Lucas. Well, figuratively speaking, of course.

Uggh! Why couldn't he just go away?! This was torture!  

[Iris_virus]

-It spoke volumes of the girl that his first reaction to her crawling in bed was not "oh baby!". But what could he do.

She was the first girl that had showered any real and extended affection his way, and even his assholeishness was not immune to her obvious distress.

He was however obvious to the fact that he was only making it worse, and all she wanted was him to go.

The bed meant comfort and curling for her. He sat on the edge of the bed, inadvertantly blocking her in, his hands searching across the top of the blanket for her, settling finally on her stomach, though goodness knew it brushed a few other mysterious places through the sheets.-

"You don't seem so fine."

"And you know I didn't mean to make you feel this way at all. Right." -His fingers lifted, tapping at her belly as if he thought he had a secret code that would unlock the special move that fixed everything.- "Riiiiight?"  

[Mriae]

Damn him! Damn him and his smooth-talking ways.

To make matters worse, he was taking advantage of one of her weaknesses. That was so like him! Euphemia was naturally a very ticklish girl, and in her mind she cursed that fact. On more than one ocassion had Lucas decided to use this against her, in order to gain an edge over the girl, and although she never wanted to admit it...it worked.

Sighing, she shook her head under the covers and mumbled a quiet, "...Right," in agreement.

Don't get her wrong: she wanted to hate him. Effie wanted to hate the gamer oh, so much. It had even gotten to the point, once, that for a while she had even deluded herself into thinking she did. Yet as hard as she tried to forget, to hate him and push him away, it never really worked. There was something that always drew her back to him, and the potter knew what it was within the back of her mind. Euphemia Argyros was still in love with Lucas Hendricks.  

[Iris_virus]

"Good then." -He grinned mildly, fingers walking up her, until they'd reached the top of the blankets, attempting to tug them down atleast enough to expose her face.

He was already sliding down into more of a lounge, his body resting against hers, instead of his seated position. Comfort, there had always been a sense of comfort, in which he could let loose. It wasn't something you got from punch drunk beach girls. Or even a certain little chess player. The source of his problems with his lady.-

"You'll let me try to make it up to you?"  

[Mriae]

There was no point in hiding under the covers anymore. When Lucas' fingers reached the top of her blanket, she popped her head out and flashed him a half smile. Moments like these, they were the ones that she missed. Euphemia then scooted over a little bit to make room so her old flame could sit next to her. The last thing she wanted was to be inhospitable. A hand of hers then extended out to him to take so he could climb up next to her in bed if he so desired. That sort of thing was right up his ally, wasn't it? He better not expect to get very far, though; Effie wasn't that kind of girl!

"You could try," she teased playfully, "though I doubt you'll get very far."  

[Iris_virus]

-His thumb brushed against the soft place below her jaw, as her head appeared, mirroring her smile with one of his own. Wider and brighter of course though.

His fingers lingered at her neck, enjoying the softness that was female skin beneath his fingers. Really he might be a better guy if he reached for things like hands and arms to enjoy, instead of randomly grasping at the more intimate parts on ladies. He just liked it.. the touch of female skin. It was like magic. It was like in cartoons when people lounged around in clouds that looked like the softest thing ever.

Her challenge brought a lift to that pierced brow, soon to be followed by a look that could only be described as devious.- "I think you forget who you're talking to missy. There isn't a game I can't beat"

"I know all the secrets." -He liked it when flirtation and gaming got together and made babies. It made him feel whole inside, and incredibly clever. Who knew if girls actually LIKED to be considered games. But then.. Effie knew how damned important those things were in his eyes.-  

[Mriae]

A neatly plucked eyebrow quirked at the statements Lucas had been making. A game he couldn't beat, huh? Lucas and his games - he was always going on about them. Then again, he had a reason to, she supposed. They were his passion. Regardless of if they were his passion or not, she couldn't help but think of how much they had control of his life. She never talked about pottery that much; there wasn't really much one could say about it. The girl was skeptical, though, of Lucas' abilities. She doubted he could win every game, and he certainly didn't know all the secrets to women. To games, maybe, but not women.

"I doubt you know all the secrets there are to women, Lucas," Effie told him. As she spoke, she gingerly ran a finger across the boy's jaw line only to brush it across his cheek before continuing on. "Take my secrets, for example," Effie sat up as she said this and then leaned in to whisper in a soft, flirty voice, "if you knew them all, you wouldn't be here, would you? It'd make things less intriguing." An innocent giggle escaped her after that, and she moved back from her old flame if only to tease him a bit more. If there was one thing that got to him the most, it was her keeping her distance.

He deserved it, though, even if she was going easy on him. These subtle gestures would be punishment enough for Lucas. Getting close to him, only to retract away just out of reach was enough to drive any hormone-crazed boy insane, and that was exactly what she was using to her advantage.  

[Iris_virus]

-She seemed like she was giving in, a shiver crawling down his spine as her sultry whisper touched his ear, and he leaned forward to try to press his lips against hers...

But already they were gone, she'd retreated, pulling back with a giggle that only made him want to kiss her more.

She'd been wrong about one thing though. He wasn't here for some secret or some conquest. He was here because somewhere deep inside the jerk was some sliver of human.

His words however hid that away, his voice a teasing purr as his hands attempted to grab whatever they could beneath the blankets.- "Secrets? I'm here for smoking curves and carmael colored skin."

-Ah ha.. he finally had it. His fingers laced within hers as he found one of her hands, his eyes staring at hers seriously.- "Sooo... how about I come around here again. That sound alright?" -Sure.. he wasn't asking her back directly.. but it spoke volumes that he atleast SEEMED to be giving her a choice in the matter.-  

[Mriae]

"Soooo...how about I come around here again. That sound alright?"

He wanted to come back to her? That sounded more than alright! In fact, that sounded wonderful! Oh, how long she had wished for him to say something like this to her over the summer - that he was sorry for what he had done and wanted to take her back. Well, now he had...sort of, anyway. If he wanted to come back so badly, though, he should have just said it. It would have made things so much easier.

A light tint of pink flushed across her cheeks when Lucas laced his fingers in her own. God, she missed things like this. She missed holding him and being around him like this so much. "If you want to come back, Lucas," she said, her own voice and facial expression becoming serious this time, "you should just say so." To this, she gave her old flame a stern nod. "If you want to get back together, then that's fine, so long as it's official. There's only one condition: you better not screw up. If you do, then it's over, because I won't stand around and take you flirting, touching, kissing and God knows what else with other girls. I care for you too much." Effie nodded again; she was serious about this. One screw up, one mistake, and she was done.

Lucas should consider himself lucky at any rate. Effie was being kind enough to give him a second chance.  

[Iris_virus]

-He should have stopped there, should have turned and went the other way. Saved the girl from anymore tears or frustration. Why couldn't he JUST stop there? He knew full well that there was no 'control' behind his actions. That even if he tried, he'd still oggle and probably attempt to feel up any girl within arms length.

It was ingrained.. in the same way that he didn't feel he was doing anything wrong by womanizing. If only Effie would understand that. Harems were natural, this.. monogamy thing was the fluke.

But the lies spilled out of his mouth anyway, fueled all the more by his desire to touch her. He nodded, agreeing silently to something he knew deep down he was destined to break. The words that left his mouth however were completely sincere.- "I officially love you Euphemia Argyros."