"distractions from what?"

[break][break] he finds a small cropping where it seems good to sit down, and pats the seat beside him.

[break][break] "work? aliens? a boy?"

[break][break] his voice is teasing, as he puffs out a laugh.

[break][break] "am i the one joining," he says, leaning back onto his hands to look at her. "or are you joining me?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] illeana reyes [break]
ROCKY STEPS

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]the grass beside him looks much comfier than the rock she's perched on... so much so that she rises and shuffles over to plop down again next to him.

and once she's sitting, it's easy to flop back onto the grass with a dramatic sigh.

"all of the above?"

what isn't cause for a distraction these days? she's exhausted.

"which would you prefer?"

she flashes a small, barely there smile.

"the follower or the followed?"

ollie morales

he chuckles.

[break][break] "that's a big list."

[break][break] even he didn't think he could come up with a list that big, even though he knew he had plenty of things he wanted to avoid.

[break][break] "the leader, obviously!"

[break][break] he puffs out a laugh.

[break][break] "it's like you don't even know me, illie!"

[break][break] he clutches a hand over his heart.

[break][break] "i'm wounded."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] illeana reyes [break]
ROCKY STEPS

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]she scoffs. the sound is more amused than anything.

"you'll survive."

a smile tugs at the sides of her lips, struggling to fully drag them upward into a full expression.

"just be the follower this once, please?"

it sounds better that way, she thinks. less pathetic of her, maybe.

ollie morales

"mmmm."

[break][break] he hums, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. he tilts his head to the left and then to the right, almost comically so.

[break][break] "maybe!"

[break][break] his eyes open, that same bright verdant-green.

[break][break] "if you give me a good reason why."

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] illeana reyes [break]
ROCKY STEPS

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]"a reason why?"

she blinks at him, red merging with green.

"like what?"

she's at a loss, perhaps, as she continues to stare at him.

her brain has yet to supply a good enough reason to open her mouth again.

ollie morales

"aw, that's cheating illie. you can't ask me that!"

[break][break] he crosses his arms, huffing.

[break][break] "and you're not a cheater, right?"

[break][break] ollie then leans back on the rock outcropping, kicking his feet out. pebbles roll down the cliff.

[break][break] "you asked me a favor, but you never gave me a reason why. so now you gotta be creative! and figure out one."

[break][break] his gaze twinkled.

[break][break] "i know you can do it."

[attr="class","ooc"] illeana reyes [break]
ROCKY STEPS

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]she flushes pink with anger.

"no, i'm not a cheater."

the nerve to even place cheater and her in the same sentence... ugh.

eventually, however, anger dissolves into something akin to hesitation.

she doesn't want to admit it but it comes like word vomit anyway.

"i don't have anyone else to do this with."

not really. the only other person has been ignoring her existence, pretending she doesn't exist, maybe even hoping as much.

her eyes dart away, suddenly uncomfortable with the twinkle in his eyes.

"is that good enough?"

ollie morales

he leans into a knuckle, propped on his knee.

[break][break] "aww, that's kind of lame illie."

[break][break] lame that was what she could come up with - or lame that she had no one else to do it with?

[break][break] "but why do you want to be a leader, then?"

[break][break] "wouldn't it be easier to be a follower?"

[attr="class","ooc"] illeana reyes [break]
ROCKY STEPS

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]"i've been a follower my whole life."

her eyes return, finally, and they're soft yet hard all at once. it's an odd juxtaposition to exist within.

"i would never want to be that again."

but she is.

she always will be, perhaps.

her lips try to quirk up into a smile.

"do you enjoy being a leader?"

ollie morales

"a follower your whole life? you've got to be kidding me!"

[break][break] he laughs then, boisterous and hearty, as he stands up finally.

[break][break] ollie walks over to her, holding her shoulders.

[break][break] "illie. you're the farthest thing from a follower. you're a head scientist! do you know how cool that makes you?"

[break][break] his lips spread wide into a grin.

[break][break] "super super cool. and definitely not a follower. at all."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] illeana reyes [break]
ROCKY STEPS

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]his hands settle onto her shoulders and she looks confused, surprised, torn.

"how does that make me not a follower?"

she doesn't quite understand.

her eyes search his as her head tilts upward toward him.

"i wouldn't say cool..."

he's as warm as Eva Morales, familiar and fond and sweet. it's disarming, wrapping her in fluffy cotton instead of barbed wire.

ollie morales

she tries to dissuade her, but he doesn't let her. growing up in a household of warmth and kindness, as he and Eva Morales did, gave him the perfect defense against it.

[break][break] "because you're head scientist, duh!"

[break][break] he laughs.

[break][break] "what do you think head means?"

[attr="class","ooc"] illeana reyes [break]
ROCKY STEPS