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Cassius could never understand why girls liked flowers so much.

At the moment he was holding a book on flowers and wandering around the park like a strange spectator. The park itself was familiar to him, but towards the back of it was a luscious array of plant-life. He looked very out of place, but that wasn't unusual for him. At the moment he was wearing his Sovereign Heights uniform since he just came from campus, and his hair fell neatly at his sides like a girls. He was trying to pinpoint all of the kinds of flowers that were in the area and memorize them. A girl he had taken out to dinner the night before was discussing all of her favorite flowers to him, as if shamelessly saying "now go buy them for me". Well, this wasn't why Cassius was studying them.

Since he never went to his science or whatever class, he was now doing an extra credit project on the plant-life in local parks. What the hell was he thinking?

But really, looking at the flowers wasn't so bad. Each was as lovely as the next. He just dreaded having to write a full report on them, and memorizing all of the kinds that existed around him. Sigh. Life really was complicated, but only because he chose to put these things off until the last minute!

Cassius was highlighting in his book when he saw flowers in front of him that looked similar to the pictures. He had found five instances so far and felt that was good enough for a paper. Before he could close his book up and be on his way, he heard noises all around him. The strange thing was... he didn't see anyone else in view. There was no one around him, and he didn't see any animals rummaging around. Was he going crazy?

It might have been human instinct to always look upwards, but in Cassius' case he was just taking a guess. He raised his eyelids towards the sky and grinned when he saw a girl up in the tree. He supposed that could be a good spying place. Although, he didn't think this girl was trying to hide from anything. She may have been minding to herself but she was hardly being silent!

"Having fun up there?" He cuffed the area around his eyes since he was having trouble seeing the girl's face. "Most girls are afraid of heights you know. You must be very brave." He chuckled lightly while moving himself closer to the tree.

The natural shade felt nice, and he put his hand on the bark gently while feeling how old and rugged it was. He had never climbed a tree so he was intrigued at this girl's confidence in her actions.

Well, the upside down girl had a good point. He enjoyed the fact that she demonstrated her acrobatics even further as if proving her claim. "Well hello to you." he kindly answered, while tilting his head and grinning now that he got a better look of her face. She was a cute girl and nothing could stop Cassius from talking to a cute girl. Plus she was in a tree so she had to be interesting at the least."Have I interrupted your quiet time up there? I certainly hope not." he playfully winked in her direction.

"I must agree with you on most girls being afraid of fun things." he paused slightly while digging his hand through his hair. "So, if you enjoy other fun or daring things, what other kinds of activities do you attempt?" So far he could tell she was an outdoor person. She looked so natural and comfortable in her current settings. That was very rare for a girl. She didn't seem very tomboyish from her looks, so that made her lucky Cassius supposed. He couldn't quite guess on her age seeing as she was hanging upside down at this point in time.

"Hm, I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Cassius James." he brought his hand out to face her upside down arm. "What happens to be your name, oh brave one?" Whether she was modest or not- she was still most definitely braver then any of the girls he'd ever met.

He was relieved to see her make way to the ground and face him normally. His neck would have started hurting after looking upwards for so long. He did happen to also notice that she looked tired, but he couldn't judge for the moment since he had no facts or reasoning behind it. "Calintha, that is a lovely name." One that also started with a C for that matter. So of course he liked it better because of that.

This girl had smarts when it came to flowers? Well, he supposed if he needed help with his assignment he would know who to bother! "I was studying them for a paper I have to write later today." He shook his head lightly while staring at the flowers again. "But they are pretty. I was lucky that my assignment brought me somewhere so lovely." He hated the thought of having to write the paper though. Man, school was such a waste of time.

"Do you come to this park often for the flowers and trees? It seems like a great place to visit on a nice day." Cassius usually found himself wandering around parks when he needed to get out of his house. People were usually around so it was a good place to waste time.

"I still feel badly if I was loud and ruined your relaxation." Although, he guessed from her leaving the tree that Calintha was happy for some conversation and company. "Are you a student as well around here?"

He picked up that she was hoping to graduate, and he nodded lightly on that subject. "Yeah, I remember when I graduated high school. I was supposed to be done finally but my father enrolled me into Sovereign Heights. I really don't do school, but it'd be worse if my father watched me fail instead of succeed." Damn his pride.

Plus, in truth this really was a great way to waste a buttload of his father's money. Cassius was most definitely always looking for ways to do that. It was so easy and yet so fun at the same time. His father deserved it anyways.

"Do you live around this area as well?" Cassius was such a busybody that it was typical for him to run into random people all of the time. But Calintha was someone he hadn't seen before- so he felt somewhat surprised at this realization.

He suddenly put his book under his armpit and looked up at Calintha again. "Would you be interested in taking a walk with me throughout this park? I'd love to hear more about you and would be honored if you joined me. My legs are getting a bit stiff standing here, plus it's so nice out." He was such a liar about his legs, but it was an excuse to move around and maybe even find a bench to sit on. Or even, potentially pick somewhere else to go. He just liked doing things and would always be the first to throw ideas out there.

If Calintha didn't mind getting lost then she had found the right person to be around at that moment. Cassius was notorious for getting lost- only because he never paid attention. He got so distracted with everything that he rarely watched where he was walking. So, luckily for Calintha, ending up somewhere random at this point of time was a high possibility.

She seemed awfully reserved. He couldn't put his finger on why she was so quiet, but he also noticed that her eyes never stayed on his for very long. Was she at the park because something was bothering her? And now he had intruded?

"Of course I'll lead the way." He grinned with high energy and walked forward, signaling for her to follow.

Cassius was also well known for stating whatever he felt like, and coming right out with what he was thinking. In this point in time, he was curious about the girl's saddened eyes, so of course he would oblige. "Is something the matter, Calintha? You've seemed very distracted since I've met you. I hope everything is alright." He'd been around girls that looked upset before, and Calintha was somewhat close to the description. "I really don't mean to pry, but I hate it when I have bad days. So if I can help, let me know."

So he was right on in his guess. Something was definitely bothering this girl, although Cassius had no idea what. "Is it because of bad nightmares and troublesome thoughts?" It could have been an anxiety thing. He wondered if Calintha was getting any sleep or rest. Now that he focused on her eyes he could see that she was definitely tired.

He was helping by being there? That made him feel a little better, although that also hinted that whatever was bothering Calintha was definitely not just a bad day. "Well I am glad I can help, even if I may not understand. That's alright though!" he smiled to reassure her, and keep leading her forward.

The only time he found himself in a dark place was when his mother passed away so many years ago. Since then he rarely went back to that feeling and he learned to never let things bother him again. He felt sort of silly that he couldn't directly relate with Calintha at the moment, but this wasn't the first time he'd been around an upset girl. He was actually a very good person to be around on a gloomy day, since he never lost energy himself.

"Would ice cream make you feel a bit better?" He turned to look at her again with a light laugh. "I guess the answer to my happy own place is food." But hey, that sort of thing didn't work for everybody. All he could do was throw out ideas and hopefully distract Calintha.

He would have liked to ask- but not yet. He was more surprised at her reaction to ice cream. "Well, I will lead you to a great ice cream place. But am I allowed to get chocolate?" He chuckled at her and wondered if she'd really say no. If that was the case, she was lucky Cassius like about a dozen other flavors. He never not ate ice cream.

He led her to a different path that went towards the exit to the park. This way he could take her a few blocks to the local ice cream shop and have plenty of time to chat along the way.

"Unfortunately I live with my father, though I am looking for an apartment so I can move out as soon as possible." He gagged lightly at the thought of living with his father any longer. "We have a terrible relationship but I continue to live there because it kills him even more." Everything was a competition with his father, and it was sort of sick.

"So are you someone who prefers a quiet night at home or a crazy party?" That was always a good make-or-break question. "I'm sure there are lots of both at Meadowview, so I'm just curious."