Will you, won't you...?

[Arihant]

((OK, Ari's timeline is getting a little out of synch here. This is set before the Valentine's dance, just to let y'all know XD ))

And now, it was time to explore the forest.
Truth be told, he hadn't even considered it until a couple of hours before. It seemed like the sort of place that just screamed, "Out of bounds!", but while glancing out of his window earlier he had seen a group of pupils - young ones, but still - heading into the forest, laughing and yelling.
He needed to get out of the room somehow. His timetable had come, and that added extra pressure for him to decide what he was going to do. He'd need to know by the end of the week.
The end of the week. It seemed so close. And he still had Valentine's day to get through before that.
He needed something to clear his head, and this forest was the most obvious choice.
Now he was here, and it was every bit as beautiful as he'd imagined. He'd never seen trees so tall before, or anything as beautiful as the dappled shadows that they cast on the ground below. For most of the walk in, the ground had been earthy and covered with fallen twigs, but here...
Here, it was idyllic. So idyllic that his frazzled nerves were calmed merely by being there. The ground was free of twigs and stones, and would probably be grassy if it was a warmer part of the year. He removed his trainers, but kept his socks on. It was never a good idea to leave any more skin bare than strictly necessary.
He had decided to do what he always ended up doing when he had a big decision to make and needed to clear his head. When he had to repress unwanted memories. When the nightmares became too much. There was one thing that never failed to bring clarity back to his mind.
Yoga.
Start with the downward facing dog. Get down on your hands and knees, placing your hands squarely beneath your shoulders, and push your heels back, raising your hips and straightening your legs. Spread your fingers. Rotate your arms outward and spread out your shoulderblades. Let your head hang and strengthen the position of your legs to take the weight off your arms.
Adho Mukha Svanasana.
Now into the forearm stand. Lower your forearms to the ground and straighten your upper arms so they are perpendicular to them. Walk your feet in towards your torso as much as possible, then bend one knee. Kick upwards with the opposite leg, and raise both legs to be completely straight, rising above your head.
Pincha Mayurasana.[/b]
And finally, the scorpion pose. Bend your knees, as far as you can, and then...
Yes. That's it. Bring your feet forward and rest them on top your head.
Vrschikasana.
The scorpion pose, while one of the most difficult poses possible in yoga at all, had come easily to Arihant ever since he'd... manifested. Whatever it was. He breathed deeply and held the position with a minimum of stress, and meditated. Cleared his mind.
And having zoned out so, he wasn't very much aware of what was going on around him.
He didn't have time to get himself out of this (frankly) rather undignified-looking position before someone came out of the shadows and saw him.

[Kira & Lee Norris]

Kira's eyes widened slightly as Arihant bent forward and began to twist and turn his body into position after position. Around her hiding space, the leaves rustled slightly, a cool breeze shifting the shadows as they danced, dappled, around her; concealing her in the cover of darkness.
"This counts as stalking."
"Oh, but look! What pretty shadows the boy makes."
"What beautiful shadows."
"Such shapes."
"Such elegance."
"Oh, she's stalking. The girl is stalking him, she is."
"Not stalking," Kira wrenched her eyes from Arihant, sinking slightly deeper back into the shadows that swirled around her. "Just looking. Nothing wrong with looking."
"Perhaps she likes him. See how warm and pink her skin glows?"
"Stalking, stalking, stalking..."
"Jealous watcher. Why do you watch, then?"
"I just... am." Kira's head bowed slightly, her breath catching. "He... he surprised me. I didn't know he'd be here."
"Yet she doesn't speak to him. Why doesn't she speak to him?"
"She wants to watch. She likes the glow, the pink glow of her skin."
"I didn't follow him."
"But you still found him." The shadows laughed; a cruel, rasping whisper; easily lost to the wind, but in Kira's ear, it was painfully loud.
Kira's eyes crept up anyway, and found Arihant again, and watched him move into a final position, where, suddenly, he stilled. His eyes closed, his mouth relaxed, and he held firm. He did not look as though he was making any effort at all to keep himself in such a difficult position. She gulped slightly, suddenly embarrassed, and looked away.
"The pink glow's just so warm. It's just so pretty."
She'd come here on her own; she'd thought she was alone, except of course for the shadows that spoke to her when she was completely isolated. Any chance to speak, they would. Kira could never really be alone; not unless she forced them to go away, but it always took so much effort. So instead, she put up with them, and let them talk to her when she followed the worn, dry tracks of the forest, and listened to their stories. When her powers had first manifested, she'd hated their whispering, and hated how they liked to speak to her at night.
Now... now they were background noise. Now, she couldn't do without them. Kira didn't cope well with complete silence.
Today was Valentine's Day.
Of course it had pushed Kira out of Orchid Hill. It made her feel sick, seeing couples everywhere, and being reminded of the job she still had to do. The shadows had carried his Valentine's message to her, and Kira, the coward, hadn't been able to bring herself to answer him.
She couldn't.
"Yes, Deron. Deron will be sad, won't he, when he sees how pink her skin glows?"
"Not sad. Mad. Really mad. Really angry. Did you see how his shadow collided with Jude's? And how they fought!"
"Such a strange, black, wild thing, their shadows became..."
"That's it," Kira said suddenly, looking back at Arihant. "Screw you lot. I'm going to talk to him."
"Perhaps the boy likes you too. Perhaps his skin will glow pink."
Kira rolled her eyes, and with a rustling, pushed past the leaves, and into the clearing.
"Hey, Arihant."

[Arihant]

It was worse than he'd thought.
And that was no mean feat, really, because he'd thought it was going to be pretty bad. In the few seconds before the unknown person had revealed his or herself, he had pictured everything from a wolf emerging from the forest to a grizzly bear (conveniently ignoring the fact that they were in Scotland), and then he'd had visions of people seeing him - Nurse Gornray, one of the Heads, the Principal - and he was suddenly so sure that he was banned, and the panic had risen up in his stomach - he clenched all over and his teeth clamped together and he forgot to breathe and then-
Then, it was Kira. It was Kira's head appearing from the shadows, and Kira's silvery hair glinting suddenly in the frosty sunlight; Kira's bright blue eyes looking down at him with some unknown emotion - what was it? He couldn't quite see from down here. Probably disgust - and Kira's tinkling Irish accent that said his "name", and he didn't know why, but he knew that that was...
That was worse than anything else he’d imagined.
But why, though? Why should he feel so much more - not even stupid, but embarrassed - just because it was her? He felt as if he wanted to be swallowed up into the ground for being caught by her in such a hideous, contorted position (that he took as further proof of his innate lack of humanity), almost completely zoned out like a cretin, and… and…
That was just it, wasn’t it? It showed her how hopeless he was… how flawed he was to need such an escape from everything… how he couldn’t even live with himself anymore, let alone anyone else.
But why did it matter that it was her? He couldn’t understand why he felt… felt so… Was there even a word for it?
Now’s not the time, Arihant.
Well, in the end it didn’t matter. What he had to do was right the situation before it got any more shameful, rather than continue to perch there as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Or a sane, rational thought in his head, which he thought a rather more likely interpretation of his gormlessness.
He swallowed, thoroughly humiliated, and then quickly drew his feet off his head. He put them back on terra firma as fast as possible, the left before the right, and drew his forearms off the ground. Trying to buy himself some time to reply, he attempted to brush some of the dry soil that had accumulated on the elbows of his jumper off, and then tried to do likewise to his gloves by banging his hands together, then stood to greet her-
-and found that he still didn’t have anything to say to her, dammit! Once more, he cursed his ‘powers’, but not for the usual reasons this time – sure, sometimes it was useful to be able to move faster and more gracefully and more powerfully - just more - than regular people, but now it meant that his ingenious methods of stalling had gone completely to waste. The entire movement had taken only a matter of seconds.
OK, so think about it rationally. What had she said? Well, of course, it was something simple and normal that she clearly didn’t have to consider for as long as Arihant had to consider every sentence (for any of at least… oh, a million reasons. His social dyslexia featured high on the list, of course.) “Hey, Arihant.” Short and simple.
Ahh, but what should he say? Should he… he didn’t know, apologise or something? He didn’t know why, but he felt a most compelling urge to explain himself, even while realising that that probably wasn’t the best idea. He probably looked freakish enough already.
Look, just say something.
“Hi,” he answered (quietly, as ever), and began to take a couple of steps closer to her before, out of nothing more than pure habit, he stopped himself. He tried to make up for the awkward movement by smiling. “I didn’t expect to see you out here.”
Another understatement. He’d seemed dreadfully prone to them lately.

((Apologies for the ramblifyingness XD This is why I shouldn't write my replies on Word))

[Kira & Lee Norris]

As soon as he smiled at her, Kira felt herself relax.
He'd just looked... so horrified as she'd come out at him; like she'd jumped him, or something. She'd really shocked him- she hadn't meant to... but really, what did she expect? And worse still, a new, terrifying thought had occurred to her: was it really rude to interrupt people in the middle of their yoga? The look on his face would certainly imply as much; and she felt awful about it...
... but at the same time, inappropriately so, it did seem a little funny...
Then he'd smiled.
And Kira, with an inward sigh of relief, was able to laugh. "Same to you."
There was a short pause as the two watched each other. Kira's smile faded to the feeble shadow of one as she lost her thread.
Here came the awkward small talk.
"Er... I didn't know you did yoga."

[Arihant]

"Um, yeah," he said, awkwardly glancing away and rubbing the back of his neck. For a moment there...
Well, it had been strange, that was for sure. They'd just... looked at each other, but it wasn't... It wasn't the same, it wasn't like all the other awkward silences he'd experienced before. This took awkward to a whole new level.
Not that it was stronger - well, maybe it was stronger, but it wasn't as... Oh, he didn't know what he meant. The awkwardness felt... more normal. Marginally, but still. Like maybe other people had experienced it too.
He hadn't been able to drag his eyes away from hers until she spoke, breaking the silence. It had clearly been a lot more uncomfortable for her than it had been for him... Look, see, she wasn't smiling anymore. But for him, it had almost had a dreamlike quality.
Well, he was very tired.
(He had never been particularly good at rationalising.)
"Yeah, I've done it for... for as long as I remember, really. A lot of Hindus learn it from when they're quite young, and my father was-"
Now look what you're doing.
Talking about his past. His parents. With someone he barely knew. He didn't even know her second name, for God's sake!
It was just... surreal. And he didn't feel like it was wrong to go on, which was the weirdest part.
He turned his eyes back to her and smiled, a little ironically. "He was very enthusiastic about the whole passing-on-past-knowledge-to-the-children-of-the-future thing, so I wasn't about to get out of it."
Wow. That was an awkward sentence. And yet... was this him being normal? Having a regular conversation? Did he even know how to do that?
It was definitely surreal.

[Kira & Lee Norris]

Was.
His father was very enthusiastic about it.
Was.
It shouldn't interest her as much as it did. Maybe it was sick; sort of twisted; but curiosity tended to get the better of her. And she wanted to ask, so she did. That definitely must make her sick, asking about the father who was.
But it was so easy to ask...
All she had to do was echo that word...
"Was...?"
"So's mine," she said instead, looking back at him properly. "Dad always talks to me about Irish politics and stuff. Okay, I guess it's not the same kind of knowledge but it's still... knowledge. He'll just sit there with this thoughtful look on his face for ages, and then call me in and sit me down and start on some weird lecture thing. It's nice, though," she added quickly. "It's not like... a bad thing; I like it when he talks to me, because he usually isn't much of a talker."
She was rambling to distract herself, and she knew it.
"He didn't teach me any kind of... skills, like yoga."
Was yoga a skill, anyway?

[Arihant]

"Well, I wouldn't call yoga a skill, I don't think..." he said, speculatively. "At least, it probably is one, but it's hardly going to be useful."
He smiled a little wider. "But no, my father was very interested in that kind of thing. He taught us yoga... and swordfighting, actually - nothing useful like politics, mind. And... and my mother taught me English, too."
Part of him - the part with sense, obviously - was shouting at himself, wondering why the hell he was being so free with this information, telling her everything... And he did have to admit it wasn't a good idea. She could easily ask him about anything he was saying - after all, he wasn't saying anything that would exactly discourage her... And he was saying so d**n much, too!
OK, right, so this was clearly a bad idea. Talking about his parents nearly always was, for the most part, because at any time one recollection could become too much, something could be too difficult for him to deal with, he wouldn't be able to keep a lid on the memories like he was supposed to-
So change the subject. What can you say? There's always the... the weather (because that's not pathetic at all) or there's...
Well, there's today, isn't there? Valentine's day. That has to be worth at least a mention.
"Happy Valentine's day, by the way," he said, trying (and failing) to make it seem as if it had just come off the top of his head, as if it wasn't just some random remark he'd made to detour the conversation. It was useless. He was useless.

[Kira & Lee Norris]

"Happy Valentine's," she replied, with a small smile, even though she didn't really feel it.
What a terrible way to redirect the conversation. Of course, he didn't know how much she... well, she really didn't like Valentine's Day. Not anything to do with love these days. But that wasn't his fault. That was Deron's fault.
Stupid, goddam, bloody Deron's fault.
And what made it worse?
"Valentine's Dance tonight," she sighed. What a strange way to say it; to sigh like that. She just sounded so resigned.
Resigned.
What a strange word to apply to oneself. Where had it come from, anyway?

[Arihant]

"Really?" he asked, and then immediately realised how stupid that sounded. It was Valentine's Day, so it wasn't exactly unreasonable for there to be a Valentine's dance, now, was it?
Valentine's Day, while it would appear to be a holiday that would severely piss off someone who was incapable of touching anyone else, had never really bothered Arihant. He himself didn't quite understand why not - he guessed it was probably because he'd never really celebrated it. After all, the whole Hallmark holiday thing hadn't exactly been very popular in India, where most people barely have enough money to get by (and Arihant's family was no exception.) Even if it had been publicised, he doubted that it would have caught on terribly well with the high percentage of marriages that were still arranged where he came from.
Come to think of it, if all... all that hadn't happened, Arihant would probably be getting married soon. A bride had been picked out for him while he was still fairly young -
But then, he was pretty sure that said woman wouldn't feel extremely cheated due to not being able to marry a fugitive.
Kira, on the other hand - by the almighty sigh she had just heaved, he had an inkling that Valentine's Day was as irritating to her as it was to most normal people.
It was a pity, then, that his next words managed to escape his lips before he had a chance to apply that conviction to them.
"Are you going?"

[Kira & Lee Norris]

"I..."
Was she going?
She had supposed that she would. After all, the dance was at the Cardsdale Hotel. She could have easily met Deron there. Or perhaps... perhaps Ellie and Brian wouldn't mind her tagging along with them. Okay, so they were dating, and she'd be a bit of a third wheel... but you know, she could disappear when they wanted her to...
Or... or she could go with Madeleine and Lee. In fact, that was the most likely scenario, but again, she didn't really want to have to do that. They were just so... Madelee and she was just so... Kira.
It made things awkward, at times.
"I don't think so," she replied finally. "Are you?"

[Arihant]

His eyebrows arched with surprise when she said she wasn't going. He didn't know what it was, he just thought that... Well, it was hard to imagine a girl like her not having a date for the dance - any dance. Sure, she wasn't extremely pretty in the most technical sense of the word, but that was hardly a problem. There was something... something appealing about her petite form and the intelligence that shone in her blue eyes that no amount of mere conventiality would ever make up for.
"Are you?"
"Um... no," he said, laughing a little nervously. He was a little taken aback that she'd asked, actually. "I only found out about it a couple of seconds ago," he reminded her.
And apart from that, there were innumberable other reasons why he wouldn't go. For a start, he was far too cripplingly shy to ever actually ask anyone, and he wasn't the sort of guy that girls asked out. Then there was the laughable image of him actually being at any dance. (Namely, a horrendously awkward image.)
And of course, there was... There was that.
No, dances and Arihant didn't go well together.

[Kira & Lee Norris]

"Oh, yes, good point," she giggled slightly, but it felt a little unnatural. Coughing, she looked up at him, and suddenly, she heard a whisper from the ground beneath her.
"You're glowing brighter than ever, Kira."
"And look! His glow matches yours."
Stupid shadows. The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.
"We could go as friends. It'll be fun."
But... then again...
It would make sense, wouldn't it? She watched him carefully for his answer, her breath bated. Say, yes, Arihant.
Because... because it would make sense, wouldn't it? They were friends, after all, weren't they? And he seemed nice... and she kept... she kept thinking about him. Thinking about what else there was to know. Sometimes, if she thought about him long enough; thoughts turned to dreams; and every time, a whole new history of Arihant exploded before her eyes, each as bright, colourful and individual as the next.
There were so many stories now...
... maybe... wouldn't it be so wonderful if one turned out to be true?
So say yes, Arihant.
Please.

[Arihant]

What?
His eyes widened.
No. No, that was out of the question. He didn't do things like that - didn't go and dance and have fun like he was a normal person - he couldn't! It just wouldn't work. People who are incapable of physical contact do not go to dances. People who are incapable of physical contact shouldn't lead others on and go out with them if they can't even touch them. It wouldn't be right for him to say yes-
Wouldn't be fair to Kira.
"Um... Um, God, I don't know - that is, I don't know if that's a good- If I..." He trailed off.
But hold on.
Arihant, just... just consider a couple of things before you refuse her. Look at her. She does want you to say yes, you can tell - why would she have asked you if she didn't want to go? You don't know her well enough for her to pity you - at least, pray to God that she isn't, because that would just be too mortifying for words.
Just... consider what it would sound like if you said no. Consider how that would feel.
Sure, it wouldn't be right for him to say yes in theory, but theory wouldn't justify him saying no.
So what did he do?
What did he want to do?
I want to go.
The rapid answer shocked him - it was so unlike him to make decisions so quickly. So much of what he did fell into such a morally grey area that he had learned long ago that he had to not rely on instinct, he had to think things through, because otherwise God only knew what would happen. It had become second nature to him.
But now...
He wanted to go to the dance with Kira.
It didn't make sense - then again, did it make sense why she wanted to go with him? He couldn't see a single possible reason for that, except if maybe-
Oh. That was it.
She wanted to go to the dance, but she didn't want to go alone. And he was probably the last guy in school who didn't have plans tonight...
He was the perfect last resort.
"All right," he said, ignoring the fact that he was completely contradicting what he'd just said. He smiled. "So long as you don't mind going with me, that is."
There. That was a pretty friend-ish thing to say, wasn't it? Friends.
He guessed he could work with that. After all, it would probably be nice to have a-
But no. That wouldn't work.
Well, they could be friends for tonight, at least. He didn't know what would come after that, but tonight...
Tonight he'd be her friend.