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In quite the opposite situation there was Cassius by the magazine stand in Hammy's, reading various magazines such as Hustler, Sports Illustrated and even Playboy. He was bright and noticeable with his hair neatly brushed and somehow out of his eyes perfectly. He was so focused and busy reading the 'articles' inside the magazines. Sigh. All of these women were so trashy, and yet he felt nothing. Oh wait. That's how it always was, and would always be with women. Nice bodies though.

He wasn't surprised to look up as he heard the 'ding' of the door, and he watched as a girl walked through looking mighty... interesting. He could tell she was in a hurry to get in the store and get out. He wasn't quite sure why he kept staring at her, but some of it had to do with the fact that he was sick of the magazines. Plus goodness, here was a gal in front of him and she was hardly put together. He liked investigating things that weren't his business. Some would call that a bad habit but he just considered it fun.

He suavely followed the gal into an isle and watched as she dug through bandages. "Are you injured?" He assumed his voice would take her by surprise, so he just watched curiously.

He already loved this situation, much more than Dale could have realized. She was a fiesty one alright and more unique then other females. That was damn refreshing. "Well, it appears we both have that in common, then." He leaned over to pick up the bandage and gently handed it to her. "I dress to attract the attention of sympathetic, young women as well. Perhaps you can show me a thing or too?"

But really. What was she doing buying bandages? "I don't want anything really. Was just curious. It's not often that you see a gal like yourself looking so.. frazzled. I'd expect a much more confident tone in your case." He shrugged then and leaned against a nearby pile of supplies with his arms soon crossing. "What can I say. I'm also bored." And brutally honest.

"The name's Cassius. If you are looking for pain medicine I recommend the purple bottle in isle three." That stuff was always a savior after a rough night.

Cassius kept a sturdy smile as the female answered him quickly. He wasn't too surprised to see her sweep by him and leave the isle. His eyes watched her as she scurried to the next spot to get herself what she needed. It might have been normal for someone to walk away and leave the grumpy girl to be. But Cassius loved bothering people. He needed to learn about this mysterious person and understand her deal. Anything out of the ordinary made him go crazy for information.

So, to put it frank, there was no way he was giving up on her. Plus what else did he have to do today? Absolutely nothing. To bad for Dale.

He stopped her again before she could escape the ice section. "Good choice." he quietly added, while eying the parcels in her hands. "But really, I wouldn't imagine in a million years that you'd ever be intimidated by me. So why hurry away? The only reason I am so calm talking to you is because I am an idiot." His eyes widened ever so slightly as the words came out. "Plus, how could we ever be rivals if I can't recall who you are?" Was his calm sensitivity scaring her? He was getting kinda good at it...

................................

Dale was most definitely Cassius' favorite person right now. He wasn't even sure what had just happened, but she won everything against him. Whatever conversation they were having was futile. She had just punched him in the balls figuratively, and it was hilarious. He refused to speak until she had finished speaking and even walked away from him. Oh Dale. This was precisely why he bothered people. When he was fortunate they were sometimes actually cool.

And of course he followed her onwards. He wasn't letting this gem get away from him.

"No one's every called me Fabio before." he finally added, while walking behind her. Wow. He kinda liked it. "And how do you know I was hitting on you?" At this point he was acting like a puppy dog chasing after a treat or something. Any girl who liked other girls as much as he did was a winner in his book. There was always that male fantasy, and no guy could help that.

There was also another detail that Dale kept ignoring throughout their meeting. Cassius was determined to figure it out, so of course he kept at it. Even if he'd rather talk about girls with her. "Why are you buying those supplies, Dale? Are you hurting or something?"

"I always have a cocky smile on my face." And alas, there the smile was again. As if he would ever change such a perfect expression! That would be like ruining art itself! "But whatever, if it makes you happy then believe what you'd like." When he caught her eyes again he winked and watched her purchase her items at the counter. He supposed he could have paid for them, but Dale would have probably smacked him or something for offering.

"Whatever those magazines had great articles in them and I was doing research first of all." He added a louder voice to the 'first of all' part. "And secondly you maneuvered around here as if you were hiding from someone. That was enough to entertain and intrigue me. Much more interesting then boobs. Those you can see anywhere." He raised an eyebrow and leaned on the counter ever so slightly. "You must be a trouble maker, Miss Dale." Maybe he was hoping so?

He was surprised to hear her answer his question this time. "He?" What the hell. Why would a guy beat her up? "Why didn't you kick his a** back?" Was the best question he could come up with. The dude must have been seriously rough. Dale should have still dominated that situation. Just like she was now.

When he thought about their current conversation, for someone who looked so different before entering the store something had definitely changed in Dale. Cassius wasn't sure if he had contributed to her feeling better or something, but either way he was enjoying it. "I have not heard of this tale. Is it boring and long?" Just because she'd love that question...

Dammit. Dale probably got more female-a** then he did. AND THAT WAS FRUSTRATING. But seriously? He'd listen to her talk about it all day if she felt like it. Cassius would be the first to run over if Dale needed to talk about 'girl problems'. Ok now he was just dreaming.

But anyways, back to what Dale was actually saying. "I'm a trouble maker too." Not like he was trying to compete or anything, but he was just throwing it out there. Yet another way they could totes get along! He became more serious when she spoke about this male contender. Even if she did respect him the whole situation didn't sit right with Cassius. He obviously had no context to the situation- but it was Dale's life. He respected her decision to move on from it. He just found it strange that she got her butt kicked in the first place.

"Well whatever it's better you're not dead." He was still somewhat confused but he pretty much tripped and fell at Dale's next comment as a nice change of surprise. How dare she not like the male parts. Ok ok, there were plenty of female parts to go around. Or was he just telling himself that? "I could never scold you for appreciating the female anatomy. But I'm sorry, you're still missing out. You'll realize it someday. And chase us boys down." Well probably not. But it was hilarious to give her a hard time about it.

Heh. So she was interested in a story that involved gambling? Well, for goodness sakes, Cassius was all ears then. "Anything that involves gambling and betting has my interest. And gambling's one life is always an impressive story. Hopefully you get whatever part you were going for." He wasn't that into plays. He had dated a few actresses or two in that past if that counted?

"Am I stopping you from resting or something?" She did get beat up. Maybe she needed medical help? "I can tend to your wounds." No really, he couldn't. But he'd definitely drive her crazy for awhile.

He always seemed to enjoy how quickly Dale did things. To start, she talked fast and acted upon things even faster. She would answer his questions and then surprise him one way or the other. How she did it... Cassius had no freaking idea. Even as he thought about, Dale was UP FRONT AND PERSONAL LIKE HELLLLOO, and it was awesome. But alas, he had received her phone number out of their 'bonding' experience. This was the first lesbian he'd every picked up in his life. Wow, score 80,000 points for his ego.

Of course he took her card with the phone number on it. He took it and smiled as if he was being rewarded big time. He would have asked her to pet him on the head but that was obviously over doing it. Or maybe not.

"Well I'm glad you appreciate some males. I mean, what would you do without us? Look how easily I've kept you entertained. You obviously have a thing for the Fabios in the world." He meant that in reference to himself and the big-shouldered musk of a man that Fabio really was. Swoooon?

He was still carefully holding on to the business card, making sure to cherish it and not bend it. Had he made a friend?

"I'll call you and bother you- since I know you'll be waiting for me to." But wait, did that mean Dale was really leaving him for now? "I know you are tough enough to stand here and probably beat me up all day, but I'd feel better if you were at home in bed." Hopefully with a beautiful female, obviously. She could call and invite him anytime. He'd have to reiterate that next time.

A more serious voice followed in his next statement towards her. "Here is my number too, don't hesitate to call if you need anything." He handed her a card back and grinned. That was the first card he had given away in ages. Only special cool people got to take his phone number. And Dale was now a special cool person to him.