Plucking from the Courage Tree (ATTN: Mew)

[Alexia Dashwood-Dune]

Alexia was mighty nervous when lunch came. It meant that it was time for her to do the thing she had dreaded since Freshman year when she first laid her eyes on the ginger haired boy that stole her heart. It was funny that for all her bravado and apparent friendliness that the one person she ought to have spoken to a long time ago was the one person she had no guts to even look in the eye.

Tugging down her knee length dark blue pleated skirt and adjusting her form-fitting vee neck maroon short sleeve tee which showed enough without her feeling so uncomfortable in, Alexia headed down to where she usually saw [she used this term rather loosely at this point since she knew Mew and his friends sat there practically every day for lunch because she stalked paid close attention to his whereabouts] Mew hang out with Magdalena Veloz and Philip Lim.

Sure enough, the moment she caught sight of the area, there he was. Gosh, his smile...made her stop in her tracks. Then her smile dropped. Why was she doing this? This was Mew's last year in high school. Was she really so desperate for his attention that she was willing to humiliate herself in front of him and his friends? It was absurd and complete crazy talk. But as much as she was completely paralyzed with fear, she knew she wanted him to at least acknowledge her presence.

Taking a deep breath, she walked through the crowded cafeteria right to the middle of it and slid a hand over Mew's shoulder to tap it gently. "H...hi Mew."

[Bartholomew "Mew" Fischer]

Mew leaned against the table, idly shoving his ravioli around on his tray as Phil talked. Apparently the other boy had made plans for all of them, plans that involved picking up litter after school the following day, which honestly did not sound like the most fun activity ever, but he was dedicated to the cause -- the cause of supporting any cause his friends supported. "That sounds....great...." He said, trying not to ooze sarcasm but only marginally succeeding.

"So, Mags, you're gettin' Tyler to come, too, right?" The red-head asked, "Actually, why aren't you eating with him?" Did she think it would ruin her reputation to be seen with the football player? Because he rather doubted that was the case.

He jumped when a hand tapped his shoulder, twisting around to see who wanted his attention. "Oh, hey, Lexi." He greeted the younger girl in confusion. Although they were on the swim team together, he had never actually spoken with her. Of course, he didn't necessarily speak to many people outside his small circle of nerdy friends, and she had always been very shy around him. "Um, what's up?" He draped one arm over the back of his chair, squinting at the girl as he tried to decide why she was here. "There's not an emergency swim team meet, is there?" He asked, suddenly worried. Had he missed a meeting yesterday? No, he was positive there hadn't been a meeting yesterday! Was there? Maybe there had been. Oh, drats! He wasn't sure anymore.

[Dare Madison]

Dare had spent the morning planning and texting back and forth to Annie. It had been great fun for him and he really couldn’t wait to meet her. She seemed like someone he was going to grow to like very much. He had finally forced himself to try out the steam punk clothing he had purchased because of Phil’s urging. And now he went to look for him to get his opinion.

Approaching the gang, he noticed that Mew was talking to a girl he hadn’t met yet, but his focus was on Phil. Dare approached wearing his new outfit which consisted of a pair of blue striped trousers with leather suspenders (though they wouldn’t show), a white form-fitting shirt with double collar and black pearl buttons up the front as well as a black waist coat with silver buttons and a leather strap hanging from the pockets. The coup de grace was the black silk top hat perched on his blonde silken locks. With his grin he had the appearance of the Mad Hatter, all he needed was the tea cup and saucer.

“Hey Phil… does this work?” Dare asked innocently, shifting in his new and somewhat uncomfortable clothing. He honestly didn’t understand how his friend dressed like that every day. “Can I join you guys?” He always asked, never sure what days he would be accepted or ignored.'


www.polyvore.com/steam_punk/set?id=13584887

[Alexia Dashwood-Dune]

When Mew turned and gave her that look, her heart sank. Sure he knew her name but he didn't know who she was. Why wasn't she surprised by this? But it hurt no less. She gathered up her courage just like Tyler had instructed and plastered on a genuine enough smile and replied to his question.

"Nope. No emergency swim meet. I was just uh...wondering if you would be going for the bowling outing this Sunday? And the cleaning up tomorrow...I was-" She stopped in mid-babble when a very good impersonation of the Mad Hatter walked by and started talking to Phil Lim.

"Hey! Awesome impersonation of the Mad Hatter, Mr Madison!" she exclaimed excitedly, momentarily forgetting her stupidity in Mew's presence.

Realising her blunder, she turned her attention back to Mew, the smile she had on just seconds ago staying put as a bit more confidence seeped into the junior. "Um...I hope you'll be going to the bowling outing at least. I mean as much as I love Mother Earth, I'm not as stoked about picking up trash than bowling."

She started chuckling nervously and hoped against all hope that Mew didn't think she was a freak even though she thought he probably already did.

[Dare Madison]

Before Phil could answer him, Dare heard the unknown girl talk and his eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped when he realized she was speaking to him. Only maitre’de and hotel employees ever called him Mr. Madison. “I’m Dare,” he said softly and then realized what she had said.

Turning a dull red, Dare wondered if he should hide under a rock or just sneak home and hope no one had noticed he looked like an absurd character out of Lewis Carroll’s rather absurd imagination. “Thanks he said lamely. His eyes flickered to Phil’s face, but only saw a blank expression.

Then she continued talking to Mew and made it sound like his clean up day was going to be a dead bore. Dare’s shoulders drooped and without another word, he left figuring he would walk home and hope to be hit crossing a road.

Keeping his eyes on his shoes, not wanting to see anyone’s reactions to his clothing, Dare wound his way through the crowded cafeteria, thinking it was the second time he had been shot down in there and this time was definitely more painful. He was only glad that Syn had not been there to witness his humiliation. He would have died on the spot as she would not have kept quiet about it.

[Bartholomew "Mew" Fischer]

"Uhhh...." Mew gaped at Lexi as she spoke, trying to recall if he was supposed to know about a bowling outting. Before he could question her about this, however, Dare Madison traipsed up in an outfit that could only have been encouraged by Phil. The red-head opened his mouth to assure the blonde that he was welcome to sit with them when Lexi spoke up, and before he knew what was happening Dare had practically fled the room.

"Ummm, what was that all about...?" He wondered, turning to Phil and Maggy, ignoring Lexi momentarily while concern for someone he had supposed was a friend in the making occupied his mind. Did Dare despise Alice in Wonderland or something?

Magdalena prodded Phil in the side, "Isn't that your new friend? Shouldn't you go after him?" She asked; Phil shrugged and stood, hurrying after the blonde, and Mew turned his attention once more to Lexi. "Umm, what's this about bowling?" He questioned, then gestured to the seat beside him, which was empty largely because he and his friends were being ignored by the general, cooler populace. "Definitely going to the park clean up, but I didn't know about bowling."

Magdalena perked up at the mention of bowling; that was one thing she happened to do very well, and even the idea of socializing with other people was not, at the moment, crippling.

[Phil Lim]

Phil sighed and hurried after Dare. He did not want to deal with whatever moodiness was upsetting Dare at the moment; he already had to deal with Magdalena and her strange entanglement with Tyler Durnham, and then Mew was just....Mew. And it wasn't as if he didn't have his own issues to worry about. Still, Dare was obviously distressed and as much as he wanted to be an introvert right that moment, it would be awful of him to ignore the other boy.

He caught up to the blonde, placing a hand on his shoulder to get his attention, "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" He inquired, "I pray we didn't run you off, the outfit is delightful." He reassured the other, not caring if people stared at the two boys in top hats. He liked his top hats, by golly! And he was thrilled that he had managed to influence anyone else into wearing them with him. "We were just discussing the activities for tomorrow, looking forward to beautifiying our parks." He testified, though he was generally more of a city and technology person than an environment and wilderness one. The wilderness was, well, it was wild and meant to be tamed. Parks, however, were nicely tame, and as much as he adored cities he at least agreed that the planet shouldn't be destroyed and parks should be taken care of. "I think I need a smoke, care to join me?"

[Alexia Dashwood-Dune]

When Dare ran off, Alexia felt as though she blew everything. It only heightened when Mew turned his attention to the boy who had just left. She bit her lower lip and contemplated on leaving right away. It was clear that Mew didn't have time for a girl like her. Well, duh. She was a junior for goodness sake! Silly, Lex. Thinking a senior would want to ever have any entanglements with a junior. She shouldn't have listened to Tyler Durnham. In fact, she shouldn't have talked to him in the first place, why did she even think it was a good idea in the first place?

But just as she was about to excuse herself, Mew turned to her again with those glass-rimmed eyes and even motioned for her to sit next to him. She declined the offer and continued to stand up. She didn't think she'd conduct herself well if she was in such close distance with Mew. "It's okay, I'm fine standing. I was just wondering if you would be joining the others at 9 Pins this weekend." Hoping, too. "If you...like that sort of...thing." She shrugged nonchalantly. This was getting a bit ridiculous. She shouldn't be here.

"Um...well...if you are then I'll see you there, I hope." She said the last part to herself and waved at Magdalena Veloz with a smile. "So, I'll see you at swim practice, Mew. Have a good lunch!" She turned around and dropped her smile, shaking her head as she walked off.

Have a good lunch?

[Dare Madison]

Dare hadn’t even heard footsteps coming up behind him and he was startled when his should was grasped. He stopped and turned slowly to look at Phil, his face pale and distressed. “You didn’t do anything, Phil,” he reassured his friend. “I didn’t realize I looked so odd. I guess I am just not the steam punk type.” He guessed he was more the children’s fantasy type, something cute and fluffy, instead of mysterious and slightly dangerous.

He groaned when Phil mentioned the park clean-up. “I don’t think people are as thrilled as I am. That girl said it would be a bore…. Although I think Annie is excited,” Dare said, calming a bit as he remembered her enthusiasm. “Smoke? I didn’t know you smoke… I don’t smoke commercially.” He had spent his entire life traveling with a rock band, he smoked, but only the illegal stuff. “But I will sit with you if you want.”

Normally uncomfortable around people smoking tobacco, Dare realized the depth of his attraction to Phil because he was more than willing to be with him no matter what he was smoking. He sighed because he knew it was an impossible desire. Phil skirted the edge of anti-homosexuality, he believed. This was about the worst day he had lived through. Making the shooting seem like a stubbed toe by comparison.

[Bartholomew "Mew" Fischer]

Mew still had no idea what had just happened. Why was everyone behaving so strangely today? First Dare, now Lexi, did he and his friends have the plague and nobody could see until they got right up close to them? What was up with people approaching them and then running away?!

“Ummm.” He pushed his glasses up his nose and wrinkled his forehead at her retreating figure, “A…are you sure you don’t wanna sit?” He called after her, although she very clearly wanted nothing of the sort. In fact, he couldn’t believe that she had even asked if he was going to either event, if she didn’t even want to sit with them.

He stumbled to his feet, somehow managing not to trip over his chair, and hurried after the girl, “Wait, what time this weekend?” Was she really going to ask if he was going to something without giving him details? At least she had told him where but nothing else. “You said Sunday, right?” At least it wasn’t Saturday, he would never have been able to make that on top of Synagogue and the Young Republicans Club.