"Try not to get into too much trouble this time. Just try. Do you think you can manage that this time?"
They were the first words out of Professor Cain Syrrus's mouth as he and Pepper approached the gates of Airelos University, the elderly man sat atop his chestnut gelding while Pepper awkwardly rode atop an older tawny mare. She had learned to ride while traveling with Cain, but she was convinced it would never feel natural--and she was still scared to death of the blasted horse no matter how gentle Cain assured her she was. Somehow, though, she had survived the trip from Moonspear to Darken Vei.
Now she just had to survive their stay there.
She was still, technically, serving out a previous punishment in response to a much earlier offense at her own University back in Arca: work for Cain for a month doing boring menial work or whatever. She had served only a portion of her suspension before things had...gone to hell in a hand basket, to say the least. Trusting a wolf, nearly getting sold as a slave. She had been allowed to recover back at the University for a time, but they hadn't forgotten her sentence, much to her dismay.
She had hoped they would, but...here she was. Cain wanted to study and translate some dusty old scrolls the University had here, and she was to be his scribe. Ughhhh...
Pepper scoffed and adjusted her large, floppy hat, setting it at a jaunty angle. "Don't worry so much, old man," she said. "I toldja, I've changed. I'm better now. Wiser and stuff. Lessons learned an' all that." She rolled her shoulders back and grinned. "Ain't gotten in a fight in a whole month!"
Cain arched a bushy brow, and Pepper pulled the brim of her hat down over her eyes, the jaunty look gone. "Oh c'moooon, man. Pushin' Arianna don't count if she pushed me first, 'kay? Weren't MY fault she fell in horse shit. Not like I was aimin' fer it."
"You were."
"Not," Pepper shot back with a frown. Cain's Disappointed Dad look made her reconsider, shoulders hunching. "Okay, maybe just a little 'cause it was there. Stupid floozy deserved it."
"Pepper..."
"I'm kiddin', I'm kiddin'! Cross my heart, Cain, ya got nothin' to worry about. I'll be on my best behavior, promise."
—
They had arrived around dinner time, so Pepper was excused from work and allowed to settle. She was shown her room, given a rundown of the layout, and then she had the evening free to herself.
It had gone well at first.
Then came dinner in the mess hall.
Naturally, the students here were curious about a new student who spoke and dressed differently from them. Pepper always preferred baggy robes that hid her figure and she spoke like an uneducated urchin, so she was used to being a tempting target, especially for the privileged, insecure sorts that were all obsessed with hierarchy.
What these sorts never expected was a target that was fully prepared to fight back and fight dirty.
She didn't start it. She had been eating her stew peacefully by herself, brooding over all the boring busy work she just knew was waiting for her tomorrow, when some idiot boy came up and knocked her hat off her head.
"Hey!"
Pepper bristled, twisting in her seat and glaring daggers up at the too-pretty fop smirking down at her. Right. Best behavior. With a huff, Pepper reached down to pick it back up, but the guy stepped on it before she could. "I'm doing you a favor, dummy," he said, "No one's worn that style in like ten years. Leave it."
"Don't care," Pepper grit out, and tugged at it. "Step off."
"Like I said, I'm doing you a favor. You stand out enough as it is, newbie. You're only making yourself a target. Besides, you look better without it."
"Don't care," Pepper repeated, but stopped tugging because she didn't want to tear it. "Move."
"You'd look even prettier with a smile," he added, and Pepper felt her blood rush to her cheeks—not in a flustered blush, but an angry one. Her glare hardened and she bared her teeth in a grimace, the closest thing to a smile he was getting. "Aw, c'mon, don't be like that, honey. You know, I'm kind of a big deal around here—" He ground his boot into her hat as he spoke. "—so it's best you learn your place early, see. Now, why don't you give me a smile—"
He had started to touch her face. The instant his fingers brushed her chin, all bets were off.
"Don't fuckin' touch me!" She kicked him. Hard. Right between the legs. With a howl he went down as she bolted from her chair, but she didn't get far. He grabbed her ankle and she toppled with a yelp.
Everything after that was a bit of a blur.
She didn't mean to get into a fight on her first day there, and yet somehow she found herself rolling on the ground with that asshole, nose and lip bloody where he'd punched her, but his eye was already swollen shut and darkening fast from her own blow. At first, with his nuts no doubt aching, it had seemed she had the upper hand—but then he got her beneath him and straddled her, and punched her in the face, and she thought, okay, maybe she had escalated things a little too quickly.
Well. Shit.
Cain was gonna kill her for sure if this guy didn't.
It was the best of times...
It was the worst of times...
It was the lunch of times...
And it seemed today wasn't any different than the last. There was always some kind of drama happening in the damn cafeteria. It made sense, however, toss a bunch of young adults and teenagers into the same room together, you're bound to get some sort of disturbance.
Today he was late, so he hadn't the pleasure to witness the full show. Although, it wasn't his fault he left his cigarettes behind. Or at least that was the reason and he was sticking to it. He had been outside the cafeteria, casually puffing away at a cigarette when the commotion inside caught his attention.
He peered over his shoulder, spying the well known trouble maker when he realized, with a pause in his cigarettes' inhalation.. that there was a fight.
"Shit."
He exhaled through his nose and turned to saddle up and over the open window he had been looming beside. He noted a crowd had already gathered, and the damn jack ass was getting the upper hand.
Not today.
He pushed his way through the crowd, those that spotted him actually getting out of the way, whispering his name- and every other nick name and story about him they could muster. There was always some fresh story or another about Connor Mattherson, one he managed to pick up about a fire at the library and he thought idly, 'Well, that one's new.'
Paying no heed to the crowd, Connor approached as the fight seemed to be going poorly for the fool on the ground. And he noted, with a grimace, it was... a girl.
A cigarette was flicked in the attacking boy's direction, which startled him briefly from his next swing. The half smoked cigarette bounced off his forehead, lit ash exploding into small bits of debris before the thing landed, bouncing away from the girl's head. And in the next half a second, the bully was being blown clear cross the cafeteria, his body bouncing off the furthest set of lunch tables before he landed in a heap of debris.
Now a new shadow stood over the girl, a quiet and tall man, imposing almost with deep brown eyes and long, blonde hair worn back in a tail. After a moment of silently staring at the girl, he noted the strange lump of material on the ground, with an obvious boot shape smashed into it. He lowered himself down to pick it up, dusting it off - and taking his time about it- before presenting it to the girl before him. And in the motion, she might have noticed, he had picked back up his cigarette and it was resting, tip down, from his lips.
Pepper had been blocking her face with her arms, anticipating the next blow--but it never came. She heard a yelp and felt a rush of wind, and suddenly the weight on her was gone.
Startled, she slowly lowered her arms from her bloodied face right as a new shadow loomed over her, her lavender eyes meeting the brown ones of a tall, blond guy. She blinked at him slowly, a little dazed and sore and shaken, but slowly pushed herself up to sit when she saw he'd picked up her smashed hat.
He held it out to her, and she took it slowly, frowning down at it. It was dirty, but it wasn't irreparably damaged, thank the gods. She really liked that hat, dammit!
"Er...thanks?" she said, eying him cautiously, and plopped it back onto her head. She wiped her wrist across her nose and mouth--which did little to clean up the blood leaking from her and really just smeared red across her face and arm. "I had it, though. Ya didn't hafta help."
The man just watched her, the crowd around them still mulling about to see what might happen next. But the blonde man seemed indifferent. However, at her statement she 'had it', he raised a single brow at her, ash and smoke collecting leisurely between the pair as he stared.
Then he reached into a pocket and handed her a rumpled handkerchief.
"Your nose is bleeding," he told her casually.
Yeah, okay, he didn't look too convinced that she 'had it'. And it was true, she had been getting her ass wrecked, but old habits died hard. She was in a brand new environment and the last thing she wanted was to look weak.
Still she took the offered handkerchief, waving it to clear a little of the smoke that was coalescing between them before pressing it to her running nose. "He gotta cheap shot on me, s'all," she said, and with a grunt she moved to stand.
She swayed as soon as she straightened, and shot out a bloody hand to grab his arm out of reflex.
Connor watched her, eyes twinkling in silent amusement. But then she swayed, holding onto him and he, found himself holding back onto her to steady her. He cocked his head to one side quizzically, before determining her condition himself and- he suddenly scooped her up, bridal style, into his arms and began to make his way towards the infirmary.
The students around them began to murmur, wondering just what was going on-
and then some school officials nearby noticed- but not just the antics but the-
"CONNER MATTHERSON! ARE YOU SMOKING INSIDE THE CAFETERIA!?"
But he paid them no mind. The girl needed to lay down. The infirmary would be their safest bet.
"What the—hey!" The guy scooped Pepper up before she realized what was happening, and she flailed in alarm and wrapped her arms around his neck to hold on, afraid of being dropped. "Whoa, hey, put me down!!"
Her face flushed crimson, hidden only slightly by the blood crusting on her skin. Ahhh! And she was probably getting blood all over him now too, gripping him with hands that had been holding her face and that handkerchief. Mortification filled her in a hot rush, and a little confusion and panic at being carried gods knew where, and she kicked and squirmed in an effort to wriggle free.
"Where're ya takin' me?! Leggo!"
What the hell kind of place was this?! Getting beat up on her first day, now fucking kidnapped?! Once was enough, thanks! She was not doing that all over again! She shot a frantic look at the officials calling him—Connor?—out for his smoking, of all things—his smoking! Not the fact that he was hauling a girl off somewhere?! "Hey! Help!"
The blonde man turned towards the school attendants and gave them a little wave, then plucked his cigarette out and snuffed it against a nearby wall. And then the girl began to squirm and Connor had to juggle to hold on.
But before he could explain himself, the pair were toppling over- making a loud noise as they fell... and thankfully they had moved onto the hallway where there was less of a crowd.
The fortunate thing was the girl landed ontop of him so he cushioned her fall. The unfortunate thing was the girl was ontop of him... so he had cushioned the fall. He rubbed at his head where their skulls had collided and eyed the girl.
Well, if it wasn't the consequences of her own actions.
Connor toppled, and Pepper let out a squeal that was cut off by a grunt at the impact and a flash of blinding pain as her forehead smacked against his. For a moment she just lay there, dazed, but then she realized she was laying atop something warm and softer than the ground.
Of course. Of course she would land sprawled atop him like something out of a trashy novel.
Blushing despite her pain, Pepper pushed off of Connor and flopped over next to him with a groan, rubbing at her forehead. "Sunnuva bitch, are ya tryin' to kill me?" she whined.
Connor continued to rub at his smarting head.
"Something like that. But I didn't know I was tending to a pile of squirming bricks. "
"Bricks?!" Pepper shot back, her face only getting redder. Was he calling her fat? She knew wasn't built like a waif or anything, and...and okay, so she had more cushion these days than she had when living on the streets, but—! But he didn't have to put it like that!
Mortified, she glared at him and folded her arms over her chest. "I ain't that heavy! And I didn't ask ya to carry me!"
Connor eyed her, tilting his head just slightly as he regarded her. He eyed her over before moving to stand as he offered a hand to help her up.
"You're new here," he stated, not asking. He knew pretty much most of the faces that graced these halls. Memorizing faces was sort of a habit.
Pepper stared at his hand, then at her own bloodied one. With a frown, she pushed herself to her feet on her own and then pressed his handkerchief to her nose again.
"Uhhh...yeah. No shit," she mumbled, and then winced. It came out a lot angrier than intended, but she was still shaken after the fight, her face and head hurt, and she didn't take well to getting manhandled, especially not without explanation and not by a stranger! Ugh. She didn't mean to snap, and felt a little bad for it after, but the last time she'd trusted some helpful cute guy it...hadn't ended well.
She reached up to fix her hat as it had nearly knocked loose again. "Er, sorry, it's just...it's been a day." She touched her nose gingerly, checking if was broken, and heaved a stuffy sigh. "Ya didn't help it, neither. Where the hell were ya takin' me? Ya gotta ask before ya just scoop a lady up!"
The young man just pointed towards the infirmary.
"You should be taking it easy incase you got a concussion. "
He studied her before giving a cool and easy smile.
"Shall I carry you the rest of the way?" He asked, coyly.
"What?! No!" Pepper snapped, heat rushing to her face anew. The first time had been bad enough—and with people watching and everything! She gripped the sides of her hat and pulled it down, as though willing it to swallow her. "I got punched in the face, my legs ain't broke."
"I've seen larger men punched in the face who couldn't walk afterwards," he informed. But the small amusing smile he wore remained as he studied the young woman who was trying to all but hide herself in her hat.
"Yeah, well..." Pepper rubbed at her face, sniffling. "Asshole hit like a girl."
Of course it would be her luck that as soon as she said those fatal words, she buckled, collapsing onto her knees as the adrenaline that had been keeping her upright drained right out of her.
He should have expected that, but her sudden collapse caught him off guard. Good thing he wasn't smoking. He knelt down beside her, sighing before scooping her up again. Looks like they would have to do it his way.
"Come on, just hold on. Nurse's office ain't too far from here."
Once again scooped into the man's arms, this time Pepper was too woozy to protest. Okay, point proven, though she didn't like this situation any more.
She clung to him, silently wishing that she had been knocked unconscious, because oh gods this was so embarrassing. And people were watching! Under other circumstances she would have been thrilled to be carried about by a cute guy, but bad past experiences made her wary and getting beaten up and leaking blood and snot kind of took the magic out of it.
"One day," she mumbled under her breath. "I didn't last one day. I'm so busted."
Her comment had him smirking as he carried her off oh so suave-casual to the infirmary. Despite his long strides, it seemed he was taking his time but they eventually made it, he shuffling her weight as he reached an arm out to open the door; the action requiring him to bend at the waist, face brushing past her's .
He pushed the door open with his hip and moved on through, shuffling her weight again to cradle her in one arm as he closed the door behind them. Before the door even clicked closed, the nurse was gasping as she stood from her desk.
"Connor Mattherson! What on earth.." she rushed over to their side.
Connor grunted and shifted her weight again.
"Cafeteria fight... I interfered. "
The nurse gaped.
"Goodness, darling, look at your face! Come, get get her to the city over there so I can get a look at her."
Connor simply brushed past the nurse and obeyed, setting the young woman down with a surprising amount of care.
This was so embarrassing. Pepper kind of wished the boy had intervened a little too late and she'd been knocked unconscious instead! At least then she wouldn't be aware of the looks they got, or the way his face brushed against hers when he leaned. Pepper was no doubt bright as a tomato by the time they got inside the infirmary.
Oh gods, this was gonna follow her the entire time she was here, wasn't it? She'd already gotten a reputation on day one, no doubt—the only question was what it was.
As for Connor, though? HE clearly had a reputation of his own. It seemed everyone knew his name here—and he was on a first AND last name basis with the nurse.
Uhhh...so...who was HE?
Settled down on the seat, Pepper gave a sheepish look from Connor to the nurse. "It's not that bad..." she said weakly, uncomfortable with all the fussing. And then, trying to make a dumb joke, added, "Ya should see the other guy."
The nurse frowned then side eyed Connor after Pepper's last comment.
"Connor... really, I wish you'd influence students in other ways." She tisked and went back to fussing over the young lady, still frowning. "Maker's name, your poor face is so bruised. Now what is this I hear about another student and why isn't he hear?"
Guilty for fighting or not, the students' health would always be her first concern.
"Unconscious in the Cafeteria, probably," Connor replied with a casual shrug.
The nurse stopped suddenly.
"They're what?" Did he really just... she stood up suddenly and pointed commanding at the door.
"Connor Mattherson, you go get that poor student and bring them here immediately. That's an order!"
Connor blinked, shrugging once before moving to exit.
"Suit yourself if you want more work."
And the nurse sighed loudly after he left.
"I swear by the Queen's unborn heir that child is reckless. Now, follow my finger and look at the light." Before she could ask 'what light ' the tips of the woman's finger glowed softly.
Did he really just--?!
Connor was nothing if not honest, that was for sure, but Pepper really wished he wasn't right now! She shot a panicked look his way when he left to go retrieve the other student, and then she looked back to the nurse with wide eyes. "Wait, he's bringin' the guy here?"
Impatiently, she followed the woman's fingers with her eyes, squinting a little as even the soft light felt a bit uncomfortable. "Uh, is this gonna take long?" she asked, tense and trying to resist the urge to look back at the door as though expecting that dick to come waltzing in at any moment. "Like, can I leave? 'Fore he gets here? That guy's gonna fuckin' kill me!"
The nurse gave her a look.
"No one will kill you on my watch. You're safe with me. Besides," She went on with a sigh. "I believe Connor said he was unconscious. Now relax and don't squirm too much. I can heal your face but you gotta keep still."
After a moment of concentrating on her healing spell, the nurse found herself asking,"So new kid here, huh? Can't say I've seen you around."
Pepper wanted to ask, But what if he wakes up? But the nurse told her she needed to keep still, so she but back the words with a huff.
At least until the nurse started asking more questions.
Pepper looked away, frowning. "I'm visitin'," she said. "With Professor Cain. Um, I just wanna say real quick that this all ain't my fault? The other guy was being a fuckin' prick! He had it comin'! He hit me first, anyhow," she lied.
The nurse nodded as Pepper spoke.
"There, you should be feeling better now. Couldn't tell you the number of bruises, concussions and black eyes I've tended to here," She went on with a shake of her head.
"And don't worry about the other student, dear . They might leave you alone if Connor starts following you around. He tends to do that with the new kids having trouble. And if that don't work, I'll put pressure on the principle myself. Can't stand bullies. Never will."
Uhh...what?
Pepper was feeling better, almost immediately, but for a second she didn't notice the lack of pain when the nurse's words made her stiffen in alarm.
"Whatcha mean follow me?" she asked, and felt a mortified flush rise to her cheeks. The boy was pretty cute, and that just made this worse, because she wasn't sure she could look him in the eye without dying of embarrassment after today.
"Like a bloody stalker?"
The nurse only then realized that the girl was absolutely right and she looked at her a moment and gave a troubled look.
"I.. don't think I can argue that one. He.. I guess .. kind of keeps an eye on those who struggle. Though it's to help them out," She went on, frowning. "He is a strange one," She then added before another voice interrupted.
"Anyone I know?"
Connor had returned, the other unconscious man slung over his shoulder. The nurse stood.
"Over there, on the cot in the corner. Place him there." The nurse shook her head and scurried to begin examining the other student.
Connor just stood back, arms folded in front of him.
"She heal you up?" He asked, not taking his eyes off the nurse.
Crap! Pepper snapped a look at Connor, red-faced like a child who had gotten caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Had he...heard any of that? Hopefully not the part where she called him a stalker.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, she got me all healed up, yep! Thanks!" she said with nod, and then blinked as though she hadn't realized it herself until she spoke it out loud. She touched her face, carefully poking at her nose and lip, and scratched lightly at the dried blood flaked into her skin.
"Sooo, er, is that...it? We're all good now?" she asked, glancing at the unconscious boy. She didn't really want to be here when he woke up.
Connor followed her gaze. He couldn't blame her for being on edge. What a first day.
The nurse peered over at the pair and pointed at the desk Connor was leaning against, but he was already picking up the clipboard and handing it to the girl.
"Paperwork. Fill it out. Sign it and I'll escort you to class. "
He folded his arms across his chest and watched her, a small smile upon his lips.
"Uhh...okay." Pepper took up the paperwork and stared at it a moment, then grabbed a quill off the desk, dipped it in ink, and scratched along the paper in her messy handwriting. She did her best to keep it legible, and to her credit, she didn't get any smears of blotches on the parchment. She had been whacked across the knuckles with enough rulers to be proficient there, but no amount of smacking had improved her penmanship.
She scribbled her signature and handed it all back to the nurse, then looked cautiously at Connor.
"Ya know what class I'm in?"
He nodded as she placed the paper down and began to turn to leave, pausing with a hand upon the door. He raised an eye brow at her.
"What kind of stalker would I be if I didn't know?"
He gave her a playfully small smile before opening the door and leading her into the hallway, of which he continued to walk down and away from both the infirmary and cafeteria.
OH SHIT.
Pepper's eyes went saucer-wide and her face heated up to an impressive shade of red, because he had heard her! For a moment she sputtered uselessly like a child desperately trying to come up with a reasonable explanation as to why her hand was crammed in the cookie jar--and failing miserably.
"I--it's not--I didn't--!" But then she stopped, because-- "Wait a fuckin' minute!" Here she was sputtering over getting caught while he'd just admitted to stalking her!
She grabbed her hat with both hands and pulled it down lower on her head in frustration as she followed behind him, frumpy robes swishing, and picked up her pace so she could pull ahead and round on him. "Just how long ya been watchin' me?!"
Connor continued to walk for a time, a subtle amusement sparkling in his eyes before he paused some distance away.
"Long enough to know you're trouble," came a soft reply laced with just the hint of something more- that something more twinkled in his eyes.
"But to be fair, I actually have no idea what your next class is," he then went on, still walking even after the very serious confession. "I suppose we could go to the head of the school and ask him,' he continued, thoughtfully.
...huh?
That gave Pepper pause, but not in a bad way. She blinked in surprise. Wait, was he just...messing with her?
It was enough to make her relax just a little. Maybe she was being too paranoid? No, no! No such thing! Remember what happened the last time she dropped her guard? And the nurse had said he followed people around like a weirdo!
She folded her arms across her chest. "So yer the slacker kinda stalker," she said, and shook her head. "Naw, it's fine, really, I can figure it out. They gave me this paper here and—" She pat around her robes for the rolled up parchment she had tucked away in a pocket she's sewn into her robes, and not finding it, she let out a fierce curse.
"Well it WAS here!"
At her comment, he simply shrugged.
Slacker stalker? Well, it wasn't exactly wrong...
As she began to look for her schedule, Connor lit up a cigarette, puffing on it as she had her little freak out dance.
"Hrmm.." he said through a long puff of smoke. 'Maybe we should see the head of the school. Or.." he then added, drawing in another drag. "Could just skip the rest of the day."
He exhaled more smoke again.
Pepper let out a exasperated groan, waving away the smoke that wafted her way. "Might as fuckin' well, I'm probably way fuckin' late! What time is it anyhow?" she huffed, and shot him a look. "That stinks, why ya smoke that shit?"
Connor blinked as she went on; rambling. And at the end, she tutted about his smoke.
"Bad habbit," he replied.
He paused to lean against a wall, arms folded.
"You know you can't get in trouble for being late." He paused, then added. "You did just come from the infirmary. "
"Yeah, well, maybe I'm also really fuckin' stressed out from that vicious attack and gotta take the rest of the day off. Think that'd fly?" Pepper grumbled, because the last thing she wanted now was to be around her peers. How many people had witnessed that...?
She waved more smoke away, moving so she was upwind of it. "How busted am I fer that fight, ya think?"
Connor shrugged at her worried.
"Does it matter?" He flicked aah aside. "I thought we were ditching class." He smiled, smoke drifting up from his fingertips where he held his cigarette.
And then there was a gasp. Connor turned to see one of his professors.
"Connor Mattherson! Are you skipping class again?" A moment later she made a face before exclaiming,' Wait.. are.. are you smoking... inside the school!?"
Connor turned away and looked at Pepper.
"So.. now would be a good time to start on the skipping class part.."
And before the haughty teacher could make it to their sides, Connor popped open a side exit and pulled Pepper along with him out into the school's side garden.
"You've gotta be kiddin'—ah!" Before Pepper could properly curse her luck, because now there was a witness to her hooky-playing, Connor pulled her along with him as he dove out a side exit and into unfamiliar territory, and she had no choice but to rag doll after him.
She blinked in the sunlight, surprised to find that they were now outdoors.
This was not going the way she had imagined it.
"Whoa whoa whoa, wait! I never said I was skippin' with you!" Pepper hissed as she yanked herself free, but even as she said the words, she realized it was too late for that now. She didn't know her way around the school—certainly not well enough to know where all the side doors led!—so now, whether she wanted it or not, Connor was her guide.
And she was officially tangled up in his shenanigans.
"...but I guess too late for that now." She heaved a sigh, tugging at her hat, and cast a look around. "What's this place, anyhow? Looks all...secluded." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Sorta place murders an' shit happen."
Connor continued to pull the young woman along, dashing down the narrow cobblestone path and soon darting in-between the greenery and shrubs before taking a sharp turn and long step back behind a tall row of shrubbery that presses up against the walls of the school an opposing side from where the pair had entered.
He motioned for her to keep quiet as his cigarette seemed to have vanished- Connor having abandoned it during their run, and he crouched down somewhat against the shrubbery in an awkward pose, partly because of his height and partly because the way the shrub grew half pressed to the wall.
He could hear the school teacher still calling from him, though it came from across the courtyard garden and he kept quiet.. simply listening.
Pepper clamped her mouth shut when Connor motioned her to be silent, but she still looked none-too-pleased about it. She was a little breathless from their run, face screwed up in irritation, but she could hear the teacher calling which meant, well...she was kind of stuck now between choosing him or choosing punishment.
She let out a small huff. "Ya wanna tell me where we're goin' at least?" she whispered.
Connor remained quiet, even a little longer after her question before he replied,"I don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead. "
And after he said it, he wore the subtlest of smiles.
"Really?" Pepper hissed, eyes widening. "But, uh, ya HAVE done this before, haven't ya? Like, ya know what yer doin', right?"
Connor blinked, actually looking surprised by her words.
"Popped my cherry 'long time ago." He eyed her, then smirked. She looked kinda cute all wide eyed and scares.
He returned his gaze back towards the gardens, still wearing his grin.
"Maybe I just like surprises."
After a moment of quiet tension he asked, "Why, Don't trust me?"
"Not even a little!" Pepper whispered back, nose still wrinkled from his 'cherry popping' remark. Unable to take it any longer, she pulled away from him and leveled a scowl at him, smoothing down her frumpy robes and fixing her hat.
"Guys don't get girls all alone fer nothin' and I ain't big on surprises."
Connor watched her, his head having titled to one side.
"Still don't trust me?" He chuckled silently. "Smart girl. I wouldn't trust me either."
His eyes were still trained towards the annoyed voices in the courtyard and he considered their options as he asked,"So.. You're here to learn magic. But you have to have had some kind of gift to get into this stuffy place.."
He finally slid his eyes back to her, wearing the subtlest smirk.
"What spells do you know to help get us out of our little predicament?"
Because he sure as hell knew none of his spells were subtle or had finesse. Sure, he could super charge some energy and maybe punch a whole or something into the stone wall but...
What did his new companion know? Might as well see what lessons they could learn on an escape artist survival technique.
Oh, just bloody great. It would be just her luck to get tangled up with another bad boy--never mind that a former thief like herself had once been one of the bad ones by some peoples' definitions! She wasn't sure if him validating her lack of trust made him more of less trustworthy in her eyes...wait...what the hell was that logic?!
She scratched that thought because they had more pressing matters to deal with. Those voices were drawing closer.
"What? Me? Yer s'pposed to be the guy with a plan!" she hissed out in panic, staring up at him. "Want me to grow flowers at 'em? Or turn theirs ears to stone? Or maybe--!"
Wait.
...Duh.
She was a goddamned thief. Reformed, yes, but old habits and skills never truly went away, even though she had promised that she would never ever revert to her old ways and would be a perfect little law-abiding citizen. It's why she was in college instead of in jail or worse.
But...there were exceptions to every rule...right?
She bit her lip, considering it, then looked back up st Connor. "Tell me where we're goin', and I'll get us there."
He raised a brow as he looked down at Pepper.
"You know a teleportation spell?" If so.. color him impressed. Even some of the best students floundered there.
Even still.. he had to smile at her ability to not shy away from helping. So he thought about. Where should they go? And he smirked as he knew the answer.
"We could always go to class."
"Teleport--wha? No! And whatcha mean go to class, ya outta yer noggin?!"
But that smirk hinted that he had Ideas, and Pepper stared at him in increasing alarm, because she wasn't sure how to feel about that. Or about him!
Her face colored and she looked away, clearing her throat. Anyway, she'd gotten his hopes up about teleporting when the truth was far less impressive and a lot more stupid.
"Can't teleport, but I can hide us 'til they leave." A pause, and she added quieter, "Then I can open any lock that's stoppin' us."
Connor raised a brow, amused.
"Even a.. classroom door?" He asked, eyes glittering with mischief.
Pepper eyed Connor suspiciously, one eyebrow quirked. "...Yeah?" she said slowly, curious and cautious of that gleam in his eye.
"Uh, why? What's so great about some classroom?"
He gave a nonchalant shrug, looking away. But the sparkle in his eyes were still there.
"Would be one hell of a way for the new kid to make her entrance," he murmured , thoughtfully.
The voices were growing closer. Pepper shot a nervous look their way and then looked back to Connor with wide eyes. There was no time to protest or call out the insanity of his idea; while they waffled about this, they were running out of time!
"Hold that thought 'n' be quiet!" she told him, then called upon her magic, her gift that had so much potential (so she'd been told) but which she still barely understood and struggled to control. While she still hadn't gotten a handle on the fine details and could only get it to do exactly what she wanted ten percent of the time, there was no need here for delicacy.
Her skin tingled as she felt the magic answer her, the hairs along her arms and the back of her neck prickling upright as though from a thunderstorm. Eyes squeezed shut, she begged her magic to do something, to do the thing she wanted it to do--hide them, conceal them, keep them safe--
And it kind of worked.
The ground suddenly opened beneath them with a sharp crack! and they plummeted a short distance. Pepper's yelp was swallowed by the earth as she landed hard on her ass.
And above them, the earth sealed tight.
Well this was a predicament. A moment later it seemed the pair might actually be caught..
Then the next- he was eating dirt and shoved unceremoniously close to the new girl like they were two fresh corpses in a grave.
Then his body began to shake a little, and although it might be hard to tell...
But Connor was laughing.
Connor landed half atop her, but it took Pepper a few breathless seconds to realize it was him and not a bunch of rocks or something. With a start, she shoved away from him—or tried. Because there was nowhere to go. The space they were in was just big enough to fit the two of them, so when she pushed him and tried to scrambled back, she only struck a wall of dirt.
"Shit!" she hissed, unable to see a damned thing in the darkness. But beside her, she could feel Connor shaking. At first she thought maybe he was afraid or something, plummeting into a dark grave-like hole and all, but then...
Wait...
Was he...?
Turning toward him, she gave his shoulder another shove. "Are ya laughin'?! This ain't funny!"
Her denial of it's hilarity only made him laugh more violently. And he was trying *not* to be loud!
He shook his head, trying his best to stop but...
Oh, this was all just too damn funny!
"It kind of is if you think about it..." he replied, shaking some dirt from out of his face, but only more seemed to crumble inbetween them.
"I thought 'bout it and it still ain't funny!" Pepper said, face flushed with mortification. "That wasn't what was s'pposed to happen!"
Connor couldn't help himself. This was so hilarious, it almost looked like he might be crying from laughing. He eventually managed to squeeze an arm up and put a finger to his lips in a 'quieting' gesturing, eyes still twinkling as he whispered something and a faint light glowed from a necklace he wore.
"You know... we're in a magic school. We'd be wise not to draw attention to where we're hiding. In fact.. hrm.. we ought to cloak ourselves or something... well, an anti magic one. Not just dirt."
Fair point! Pepper clamped her mouth shut, because she was just paranoid enough to worry someone might hear them through the earth.
Fortunately, they didn't have to stay in darkness for long as Connor provided a light source, though the light only revealed what she could already feel: they were entombed down there with no space to really go anywhere. It was a damned good thing Pepper wasn't claustrophobic or she would have lost her mind. She still might lose it since Connor thought this was so damned funny!
"Ugh, whatever," she hissed, and gave him a nudge. "D'ya know any cloaking spells? I sure's hell don't! Fun fact, I'm also not really sure how to get us out without gettin' us crushed 'cause I repeat, this wasn't what was s'pposed to happen!"
He was trying so hard not to laugh too loudly- but the more she talked about their predicament, the more his body shook.
"I dunno, it's kinda nice down here. Don't have any home work.. we could eat some worms.." he went on.. plucking a particularly large worm that had been tickling his arm. He just smirked at it as it wriggled in between his fingers.
"What the--keep that away from me!" Pepper squealed, jerking away from him--which just had her slamming the back of her head and shoulders against the dirt. Some fat lumps of it crumpled atop her hat and showered onto her shoulders, and she shook her head to knock it off of her.
"We're not eatin' worms! Or, well, YOU can but I sure's hell ain't! I--" And then her hand touched something wet and slimy and she yelped and jerked her hand away. "Ew ew ew! I don't wanna eat worms! Get us outta here!"
Oh how his eyes danced at her reaction. He was, atleast, doing his best not to laugh. But that smile just couldn't be erased.
"Well.." he said after a time. "You got a shovel?"
"Of course I ain't got a shovel! Ya KNOW I ain't got a shovel! Where the hell would it be hidin'? Up my bloody arse?!" Pepper said, voice rising in near hysteria as she reached and wiped the worm slime off into Connor's shirt with a cringe.
"Seriously, Connor, I dunno how to get us out! Should we start screamin'? I can start screamin'!"
And that's when he kissed her. Not just a little peck on the lips, but one that smoldered as his lips sealed completely over her soft lips.
And when he pulled away- she'd be reminded just how intimately close they were. She'd likely also taste the remnants of cigarettes mixed with dirt. He held her eyes.
"First, calm down. The last thing we should do is scream for help."
If Connor was aiming to shut her up, that was one way to do it. Connor swooped in and sealed his lips to hers before Pepper even knew what was happening, and her frantic babbling cut off, her eyes going wide and body stock still. For a moment her mind was a giant, gaping blank and all that existed was the feeling of his mouth on hers, tasting of smoke and tobacco, his body warm and so close to hers...
Welp. There it was. Her first kiss. In a hole in the ground. With someone she had just met.
It was only when he pulled away and spoke that her brain jump-started, and with a squeak she jerked back and clamped a hand over her mouth. If it wasn't for the dimness of their hole, he would see that her face had flushed a spectacular shade of red—but maybe he'd be able to feel the heat radiating off of her in the small space and hear the thundering of her heart.
"Wha—what the—WHAT THE FUCK, CONNOR!" she squealed, absolutely mortified.
He cocked an eye brow at her.
"Do you want me to kiss you again?" Because as it was...voices could be heard above them, although muffled, in the gardens.
"WHAT?!" Pepper squeaked, and found that despite herself, she actually considered his question. Did she want that? Had she liked it? She had no fucking clue! He was nice to look at but—but what the hell?!
"N-no! Of course not! I wanna know why ya did it the first time!"
He couldn't help his grin as he gave a casual shrug about it while answering, "It seemed a good idea at the time."
"As opposed to figurin' the hell outta gettin' outta here?!" Pepper raked both hands over her burning face and tugged down on her hat.
"Boys! Y'all only ever think about one thing!"
That's when he kissed her again, holding it much longer than the last time- long enough that she might be able to hear the people up above.
Then the voices began to fade away, it seemed they were leaving the gardens.
He pulled away from her.
"Sorry."
But hey- it worked to keep her quiet.
"Figured you'd rather my lips than my gross hands over your mouth."
Aaaand he was kissing her again.
She had been shocked into silence the first time, but this time she let let out a muffled squeal of rage. Oh no! Oh no! She had been fooled by a cute, charming man once before and look where that had gotten her! Face flushed, eyes going wide, she wound up her arm to punch him—
But then never did.
Muted voices carried down from above and she froze, her heart skipping a worried beat, and she held her breath.
When Connor finally pulled away, she jerked back and wiped at her lips with her sleeve, glowering at him. "Ya coulda just said somethin'!"