Beyond [r e p a i r} [open!}

[Diane McLain]

She frowned, putting her hands in the air in surrender, "Woah, who said anything about complaining?" she asked, smiling but suddenly very worried that she'd offended him. "I was just curious, thats all. Is that allowed?" she finished softly, making sure there was no accidental hint towards anger. She wasn't angry in the slightest, just a little concerned about Braxton. "I'm sorry if it offended you. Really, I'm grateful..." she added, refusing to stand in the vague hopes that he would sit back down.

[Braxton Reid]

Braxton sat back down. He looked at the small black box in the girls hands. He had no one he knew who had pierced ears. He sure as hell wasn’t going to give some $300 dollar pair of real silver, real garnet earrings to his hag of a mother. So he’d figured he’d give them to this girl. She would most probably get more use out of them than anyone he knew ever would. It would just sit in the back of their jewelry boxes and they would never touch them again. Those dragons were just too beautifully crafted to sit around, gathering dust.

“Please. Accept them. Theyre expensive and I have no one else to give them to. Theyre too beautiful to go to waste. A pretty girl should have a pretty pair of earrings to compliment her earrings. You should keep them.” He smiled and patted her hand. The waitress came back and brought them their drinks. He took a small sip then sat it down beside the napkin dispenser. He glanced at her again, trying to read the look on her face.

[Diane McLain]

She was very glad of the waitress coming at that time, so she could take a quick swig of the icy drink in front of her, cooling her burning face. The drink was cold, but the glass was warm and it left an odd sensation in her mouth. She put the glass back down next to Brax's, noticing how opposite they both were.

Diane wasn't very good at taking compliments at the best of times, and especially when she was given them by near strangers. She was still trying to work out how he felt to her, and what all of this meant, "Thank you," she told him with a sweet smile, taking the box in her hands. She was still remembering the last time she had been called pretty, while in the arms of Abigail. She tried very hard to forget that memory.

"This... Might sound a bit of an odd question..." she began uneasily, but she had to know the truth, "But are you straight or gay or...?" she trailed off. It was a hard question to ask, but with so many of her friends being gay it seemed reasonable to check. Besides, she had her doubts he was straight; no straight man had ever been so kind, and she had never begun to have feelings for a straight man before. The feelings weren't there, yet, but she could feel something was in the background. Maybe it was just because he was nice, and taking an interest in her. Maybe it was grief making her long for company. Or maybe it was the tiny voice in her head that tried to make Antosha jealous - even if it would never work.

[Braxton Reid]

Braxton looked at her oddly. That was certainly the most odd question he had ever been asked by a complete stranger. Usually he would just come out and say it. Ashamed? I think not. Bold? Very much so. He could care less what peoples opinions were. If he did care - per say - he certainly wouldnt dress like a mental goth, carry around drumsticks in his back pocket, and threaten school girls if they didnt shut up the giggling and keep walking.

He sat there for a minute, contemplating this girl. For someone so shy, she was awfully forward when it came to what she wanted. Something made her cringe when he called her pretty, as if it brought back a memory far too painful to think about. There was something about her that wanted love - more than anything, one would assume - and then another something that pushed people away because of a fear for being hurt. Again. She had hurt someone, probably unintentionally, and they in turn had hurt her back. And she probably didnt want to go through that again.

"Well, for starters, Im gay. And pretty damn proud, if I do say so myself. And you, my dear? Bisexual, I assume." He said, hoping he wouldnt affend her by thinking she was attracted to both sexes. Some people became offended by such accusations, but many times he had hit the nail on the head. He didnt understand why they grew angry with his question. He was right, after all. Just being childish, he supposed. Or scared. That a mere stranger could know so much about them with just a simple glance and an exchange of a few words.

[Diane McLain]

She shrugged, turning away from his gaze. It felt like she was being judged, not too harshly perhaps but she still didn't like being put onto a pedestal; she had suffered enough from that recently. She was sick of people watching her, talking about her, some of the jealous ones even accusing her of murder, some coming up to her and even having the nerve to congratulate her. That irritated her, but no more than the ones who pretended to be kind and refused to let her out of their sights, claiming to be cautious while just looking for gossip.

She sighed, the question rattling around in her head, causing a lot of noise and confusion but not a lot of answers. "I don't know..." she said, trying to stop the question tearing her apart, "I don't think it matters what sex a person is if you like them. I don't know who I'm attracted to. Usually just the ones I can't have." she said, blushing. She didn't like being so open with a stranger, but it seemed to feel right. After all, she was only saying what would be clear with only a few moments of knowing her.

Though she had hoped that she had cut the question out of her mind, she still couldn't take her mind of it. It shouldn't have mattered what the answer was; she was in love with Antosha, who she could never have, and it shouldn't have mattered who else she was attracted to. She just remembered the clarity of when she thought she'd realised she was gay, and that clarity seemed foolish and slipping through her fingers.

"I'm sorry if my question offended you." she asked, realising that he was a little taken aback by it, and mistaking it for offence. "I have a lot of gay friends, and I've learnt by now its better to learn these things before you put your foot in your mouth," she said with a shrug.

[Braxton Reid]

Braxton contiued to try to read her. So she was in love with a gay guy, ne? This brought a smile to his lips and a laugh to his throat. He sipped at his coke, trying to drown the laughter that threatened to come. He glanced at her then set his cup down.

"No offence taken. You know, theres something you really should realize. Not asking? You intentionally put your foot in your mouth. Falling in love? Hey, you still got an icky foot in your mouth." He cringed at the thought of feet. "I hate feet.."

He sipped at his coke again and grabbed a menu, glancing through it quietly. Might as well get something to eat while Im here, since Im so not eating the school food later. he thought.

"Hey. You want something to eat? Im starving." he said with a smile.

[Diane McLain]

She frowned, wondering what she'd said that seemed to be so funny. She took her own drink, trying to sip away the paranoia that was brewing inside of her. "I'd rather have a problem which I know is my fault then one that I'm know I did nothing to stop," she said with a shrug. "And yes, feet are disgusting." she said wrinkling up her nose.

She nodded, sighing. "Food sounds good, yeah. What you thinking of having?"£

[Braxton Reid]

Braxton smiled and continued to scan the menu. This place was nothing but fast food and Braxton wasnt complaining. If its processed, greasy, and high in fat, he loved it. Everything about fast food he loved. Although he had to work out every day to keep the fat off.

"I want a cheese burger and another coke, because this one is cold, and I want some french fries with ketchup." He said with a smile. He passed her the menu.

He looked at her quietly. Something about her gave him that warm, fuzzy feeling in his stomach. She had a sheer, natural beauty. Even if she would take off the make up, she would be ravishing. Hes sure someone had told her that before, the person who had hurt her. And he could try to drill in her head - along with every other girl in the world that he cared for, which is few and far between - until the cows came home that she was beautiful, and she would never ever believe it. This was one of many reasons he wasnt interested in women: They were entirely too complicated.

[Diane McLain]

She took the menu with a polite smile, scanning her eyes over it. Fast food. She had always been a fan of fast food, and it would make a pleasant change to actually eat a full meal. She'd been finding it hard to stomach much food since the incident, but right now she was just trying to enjoy the company. "Hmmm...." she muttered, scanning over all of the foods, "Doesn't sound like a bad plan." she said with a shrug.

She looked down at his coke, scrunching up her nose, "Warm coke?" she asked, with a slight laugh as she took another drink of her freezing beverage. Even the glass was freezing now. No matter how cold it was outside, Diane adored cold drinks and ice.

She found that it was easy to laugh and feel like herself around the stranger, as she ran the tip of her finger around the edge of her glass. She had felt so long feeling miserable, and feeling like she was expected to feel miserable, like she was somehow spitting on her friend's memories if she forced herself to smile too much. She was beginning to see that she needed to enjoy herself again, be free to just talk and grab a drink with a stranger.

She hailed a waitress, as one came over once they were done with the other table. "Hey, can we order some food?" she asked, "Um... two burgers - one with cheese, one with lots of salad, and two chips - uh french fries," she said, realising that most people here considered 'chips' to be what she knew as 'crisps'. "And a warm coke," she added as she remembered, playfully squinting her eyes at Brax. "Anything else?"

[Braxton Reid]

Braxton shook his head.

"No no no. I said a cold coke because this one is warm. No ice. I dont like ice." he smiled and stuck his tounge out at Daine.

Something about this girl made him feel completely at home, comfortable. Even though they were out in public.

"You know, after I eat, I need to run to the music store? I have this big long list of things I need to get. And to tell the truth, the woman there who checks me out is really checking me out and I dont like it..." He wrinkled his nose. "This girl looked like she was peeled off the cover of Seventeen magazine, and is always chewing bubble gum. She is overly made up and seriously annoying. Why shes working at a music store, Ill never know. But she needs to go back to La La Land..."

[Diane McLain]

"Sounds glamorous..." she said, pulling her face into disgust. She hated the idea of the girl who made herself into something she was not as much as the next person, even if they looked beautiful without their personalities. She reasoned that people like that should be seen and not heard, to embrace the old fashioned idea that women were objects for men to trample over if they seemed to do such a good job of it themselves. She appreciated men and women for the same reasons; intelligence, personality, humour and comfort. "Do you need me to pretend you're taken?" she teased.

[Braxton Reid]

Braxton smiled at the innocent question. Taken? By a girl? Not in a million years. But, come to think of it, that was an exceptionally good idea. He himself would never have thought of it.

"That sounds delightful." He said, taking another sip of his warm coke and cringing. He may hate ice but he didnt like warm coke. It upset his stomach and made him spend hours in the fetal position on the floor of his room.

He handed his cup over to the waitress as she handed him his new one. He thanked her and handed her a five, as a tip. He plucked one of the fries from his plate and chewed it thoughtfully. "Needs salt..."

[Diane McLain]

She smiled, saying "Thanks," to the waitress in a voice so small it could barely be heard, but the smile and look in her eyes showed genuine thanks.

"I can be a brilliant actress when I want to be," she said with a cheeky grin, taking one of her chips and biting into it. It tasted highly processed, and she doubted it had any real potato in it at all, but it still tasted nice enough.

She took the bottle of ketchup from the side and added it generously, followed by vinegar. "Salt'll kill ya, you know." she said, realising she would probably be rotting away her insides with the acidic goodness. She passed him the salt and the ketchup.

[Braxton Reid]

Braxton smiled and waved a fry at her.

"Well, gorgeous, if Im dying, Im sure to die happy and painlessly." He said with a smile, shaking the salt vigoursly over his fried potatoes. He added ketchup to the side, and also to the burger itself. High in fat, low in essential nutrients. Just the way he liked it. He bit down into the juicy burger, ketchup spilling out of the side and onto his plate. He smiled and wiped his mouth, pulling an onion fom beneath the bun and setting it aside. He popped another greasy fry into his mouth, only after dipping it in ketchup. His old health teacher had told him to stay away from ketchup. It was the enemy. Then again, his health teacher was big as the side of the house and rolled around in a computer chair....

[Diane McLain]

She smiled widely, picking at the salad on the side of her plate and putting a bit of lettuce into her mouth, pushing the tomatoes away from her plate. She loved the salad, maybe even more than the rest of the food, though she would get bored of just eating salad. "Unless you get a painful heart attack which destroys your body and turns you into a vegetable..." she said with a grin, popping another chip into her mouth. Sometimes she had a very dark sense of humour, and she could only hope he would understand it.

"So..." she said, perching her fingers together and looking at him with interest, "Whatcha after at the music store?" she asked. She didn't know a lot about music, but it was a pretty universal topic which could possibly get a good conversation.