An unlikely meeting...Mac tag Sloane

[Mackenzie Edwards]

Mac was finally getting the hang of this whole being in America thing. He liked it. He found he had much more freedom here then under the scrutiny of his father back home. Of course the circumstances in which he left was not great, but still, he was glad to be here and around people who actually understand his struggles. Mac was exploring more and more now, finally and slowly learning his way around. Brad had helped a little.

Right now he was walking around again. The boardwalk it was called. Well Mac figured it was called that cause it was made of broads, but no, it was concrete. So why was it called a boardwalk? Or a pier? Why was this called a pier? He should have asked Brad. He could always ask Jade for his number. Right now Mac was enjoying the sun being out for once.

He was glad for it to be the weekend. Had he been in London he would be boggled down with homework that would take hours, but apparently in America, homework on the weekends was rare. Not to mention the ability to leave the house as long as he had a fully charged cell and told some one where he was going.

Mac of course was so taken by everything he was not watching where he was going. So of course hitting someone had to happen. it always seemed the moment you took your eyes away from what was in front of you, you tended to bump into things or people. In this case it was a person. An attractive woman. mac might prefer men, but he had dated and almost slept the occasional woman, to keep his father pleased, so he was not unaccustomed to checking a woman out.

"Forgive me. I was hardly watching where I was going. A very bad habit I have." Mac said in his Irish accent. He smiled at the woman. She barely looked familiar. Then again mac had only been in school a few days so he had barely met or knew anyone.

[Sloane Taylor]

She woke up Saturday morning feeling a bit better. The sun seemed to shine brighter and the smell coming from downstairs roused her from bed early. After brushing her teeth and running her fingers through her hair, Sloane went downstairs with an actual smile on her face. Chatter around the dining table was casual even though the others were looking at her as though she was about to burst at any second. But an outsider would have seen a typical Saturday morning at the Taylor's house. Clean-cut, happy and no conflicts.

After breakfast, she even helped her mother clean up and invited her brothers out for a run as per usual. None of them were free but they did ask for a raincheck so she shrugged and went out without them. The sky was beginning to clear up, almost as an indication to her own thoughts and feelings. What had happened with Nolan, May and herself needed to be set aside. She was Sloane Taylor. She wasn't the one who went through heartbreak.

Sloane started running after half an hour of stretching. The run went on for about an hour before she let herself rest, only to pick it up again after five minutes. She felt energised and the run was allowing her to clear her mind. Not once did she think about the blond that had gotten her panties up in a bunch not a few weeks ago. She was ready to start afresh and it didn't take too long for her to literally bump into it. Or him. Now what was it about Sloane and blonds?

As he spoke, Sloane grinned at his accent. So he was English. And he looked like that. Either a charmer or gay. Or possibly both. The politeness in which he uttered those words could not have indicated any different. He couldn't be straight. Could he? One way of finding out.

"Not a problem," Sloane shrugged, her chest heaving up and down after her run. She needed to stretch and keep her body in motion so she lifted one leg up her back and used one hand to pull it upwards to her head. The stretch felt good, making Sloane groan slightly before doing the same to the other leg, letting the blond's eyes roam all over her.

Little did she know that the boy not only had his hair color resemble the other boy she was trying to forget.

[Mackenzie Edwards]

"I find Americans are much more receptive to being bumped then those over in Ireland. Or even England." The English would have more of a problem with it then the Irish, but still bumping into someone over seas was seem more as an assault then a mistake. His eyes caught the beautiful girl's. She had bright blue eyes and lovely light colored hair. She was beautiful. mac had noticed girls.

Just because he preferred men, did not mean he could not be with a woman on occasion. They did make good partners for going out and having fun. Mac was coming to terms with the fact he was either gay or bisexual. Either way his father hated the idea. hence why Mac was here and not back over seas. However, he was finding California full of attractive people. "You must allow me to pay for stopping such a rhythm you seemed to have with the running. " Mac offered. Not sure what he could do to excuse it, but he figured why not offer.

Mac watched her stretch, "You are most flexible." He liked it. He would not lie. Although had a guy been doing that Mac might have more of a reaction. But this girl was doing just fine. He wondered if all the women dressed in such little clothes. Although from what he had seen, men seemed to enjoy walking around topless at times, so he was not complaining at all.

Mac looked around not wanting to seem as if he was staring one bit. He couldn't help it when her breasts were so noticeable it was hard to look away. This girl was definitely unlike any girl he had ever met. it might not change things, but everyone was different of course. Mac waited till she finished stretching before looking back at her and smiling. "If you want to continue your run, be my guest, but I would like it if you stayed to chat a while." he was kind of lonely and wanted to talk to someone.

Not about his loneliness, but he really just wanted to meet more people and she looked to be about his age. Of course it would be best to ask her name, but where was the fun in that.

[Sloane Taylor]

"Is that where you're from? Ireland? Or even England for that matter?" Sloane asked. She didn't mind being bumped into, what she did mind was when the other person, whether they were bumped into or they were the ones who bumped into her, cursed at her or care to apologise. Sloane was a lady, if she had to classify herself. So she didn't like it whenever she paid due respect to people and they didn't pay her the same respect. So on all accounts, this blond hottie was pretty safe.

He scored brownie points for further trying to right his wrong but Sloane protested. "It's no biggie, hon." She reassured him with a small grin. Her breathing was starting to regulate and as she continued to stretch, she grinned when she noticed him checking her out. So not gay. Or maybe he went both ways, like her. Whatever it was, he was pretty much a perfect fit for her comeback. She didn't want to wine and dine him like Nolan or May. That had been a colossal mistake on her part. But if things panned out, this boy might even be a good candidate for a friends with benefit thing. No strings attached. And if he liked boys more than girls, bonus points for her since that usually meant he won't get too attached to her like Nolan was.

"I'm a runner. I do track and field at school." She offered as an explanation to her flexibility. "You go to school around here?" she asked once she was done. If she had known what was going through his mind, she would have chuckled in amusement. Even her outfit then wasn't as skimpy as what most girls would wear to run along the pier. She was actually a pretty modest girl. The most revealing she could ever go was a backless dress and even then it was only for functions.

"I'm done with running. Just need to cool down." She told him before formulating an idea to 'stay and chat a while'. "I usually get a fruit smoothie down the boulevard. It'd be nice to have some company. Gorgeous day...might as well spend it with gorgeous company." Sleazy, Sloane...real sleazy.

[Mackenzie Edwards]

"Irish." Mac told her. "My accent that obvious I am not from around here. I was hoping to blend in. Guess I must try harder." He started to laugh. To Mac it seemed like a funny joke, but he did that a lot so, hopefully this lady would think the same thing. Mac like the girl so far. She seemed nice. When she said the word hon, he found it very interesting. He heard that name thrown around a lot lately.

In Ireland words like honey or honey was usually reserved for couples or spouses, but here he heard it to friends, family members, it seemed to be less formal. Thats why Mac liked this country. It was so different. "I just arrived here from Ireland earlier this week. I am to attend Silver, but apparently something happened so now I am attending Gould, to be honest I don't know what student I am any more.' Mac offered with a smile.

He went to Silver, but went to Gould High School, so shouldn't he be a Gould student, but apparently not. It was too confusing for Mac to want to discuss. "I finally learned my way around just yesterday. In Ireland the school I went to was much smaller." Mostly cause it was a private school. But he didn't want to say that out loud cause it made him sound like he was bragging and to be honest, he liked public school better.

"I would love to join you, thanks for the compliment, but I am only gorgeous cause you are so beautiful." Mac smiled at her. "Please lead the way to this smoothie, can't say I have ever had one." Sure he heard of them, but in Ireland he was more accustomed to gourmet food cause his dad only wanted the best. Well now it was time for Mac to learn what was out there.

[Sloane Taylor]

"You have a terrible way of blending in, just so you know." Sloane grinned so he knew she was kidding. "Americans tend not to be so...apologetic." She shrugged. The boy was adorable, staring at her like that. She never felt uncomfortable being stared at like that. Especially not by a boy who looked like he just stepped out of an Abercrombie and Fitch catalogue.

"Irish huh," She leaned against the railing and looked him up and down. "They sure know how to keep you people from us." Easy Sloane, you don't want him to freak out. Just ease back into your normal mode. She had to admit, she was a bit rusty given that her flirting muscles had atrophied when she was with Nolan. She didn't want to pull a muscle with this fine specimen of a boy.

"Oh, right." Sloane chuckled slightly. The merge wasn't official yet but Sloane knew it was in the works. It was only a matter of time before the line between Gould and Silver is practically invisible. Of course, to some of them, the rivalry was too deep to overcome by just being in the same school but for some like Sloane, it just brought in fresh meat. She was down with that.

"Well, apparently Silver's pretty cursed. They had that fire earlier this year and then they have a rat infestation and the last merge we had before this, the shooting happened. So I thought that was pretty weird." Sloane chuckled good-naturedly. She meant nothing by the ribbing because her best friend was from Silver. "I dunno, I think they should just make the merge permanent you know? It's no use having to relocate every single time there's something bad that happens to that school. Get a bigger school, dump everyone in there and be happy with it."

"Hey, I'm always happy to help. I know my way around." She snickered at her statement, not knowing how the boy was going to react to that. And when he complimented her, although she thought it was cheesy, Sloane smiled at his efforts. "Why thank you. Shall we?" She pushed herself off the railings and walked ahead of him, turning around only to see if he was following.

[Mackenzie Edwards]

"Thank you for the fair warning about you Americas. I must keep that in mind. " Mac said with a smile. He was gathering that, but so far it was not bad. Most of the Americans he had met were pretty nice, they were just a little less, how to put this, formal. Yes a little less formal. Which was not a bad thing, just more of a culture shock for Mac. he was getting use to it thought. He liked it, cause being more liberal worked out in his best interest. He just hoped his dad never came for a visit.

Was she flirting with him? Mac should be able to tell, but Americans seemed to be a bit more forward too, so he could not tell if she was flirting or just being friendly. Perhaps she mean that Irish people were nicer and needed to come to America. Mac just smiled, enjoying what ever Sloane was doing. Flirting or being nice, it was great. "My brother is in town too if that helps. one more person to add to this country." he said smiling. "If you ask me, I am the better brother." He said joking around.

"Cursed? I never knew such a think existed. Then again I did hear about all this bad luck. Such a shame for a school. But I guess they cant just close the school, they have to send the kids some where." Mac agreed. They could just not let them go to school, but some how Mac figured that would not be a very good idea. "I am very glad thought, more people means, more chances for me to meet new and interesting people." See Mac was no stranger to flirting with a girl.

Just cause he preferred guys didn't mean he couldn't indulge in the female attention now and then. It just would only ever be fun and nothing more, nothing serious. Which was not a bad idea. "Does this mean I have found myself a tour guide? Someone to help me figure my way around." he said smiling back at her, "Please lead on milady." His Irish accent a bit thicker. He actually did not even know her name yet, but that did not seem to be an issue with them.

[Sloane Taylor]

"It is my civic duty and I'm obliged to be fair." She shrugged, noting that they were in a heavily teasing mode. If this didn't go anywhere, Sloane would think that she was losing her mojo. That couldn't happen. She needed it still. What of Jay and the rest of the schools population? No, no. Sloane needed to get back on the horse. If this mission turned out to be a dud, she could always find another willing mate. She was an attractive girl, anyone would be more than glad to fulfill her need.

At the mention of a brother, Sloane smirked. "Will he be joining us?" she asked, wondering if the other brother is as good looking as this one. Highly unlikely given that there will always be only one good looking brother or sister in a family. Of course...she could always be wrong. "I mean...if you came together, I highly doubt that he'd know this place any better than you." She bumped his shoulder with hers playfully as they started walking.

"Curse, bad luck, coincidence...it's all the same to me. So long as I get to keep my company with the likes of you, I'm pretty set." Her statement was half true but not exactly in the nice way the boy probably thought she meant. Nice looking boy like him...probably thought she was being all friendly. At his response, Sloane had to raise an eyebrow. Okay...so maybe nice looking boys like him did understand her language. "I'm pretty sure you'll find someone." Sloane smirked at him.

"Tour guide, makes me sound so campy." Sloane scrunched up her nose delicately as she moved in the direction of the smoothie bar which wasn't that far up ahead. "Maybe..." she paused and ordered two strawberry smoothies, asking the person behind the counter to add in a bit of lemon in hers. She turned to her new friend with a grin. "Maybe just call me the destination agent. DA for short. Sounds fancier," Sloane gave the boy a sly smile.

It didn't take long for the smoothie to be ready so when her order number was called up, Sloane paid for the drinks and handed one cup that had no markings to indicate her added flavour to the boy and continued to walk, not wanting to lose her rhythm. The hot dog stand was just in front. They could walk over there and still have their smoothie with the hot dogs she could already taste. "So what do I call you? Although I really wouldn't mind calling you Irish."

[Mackenzie Edwards]

Mac smirked at the mention of his brother, "Believe me, my brother is probably hiding inside his room. He is not much for exploring." At least not as much as Mac was. Mac was always out and about. More so now. He felt under scrutiny at home when his grandfather was there. Besides he was in a new place, he needed to get out and explore. Learn his way around, "You are stuck with only me." He smiled. "I have been told I don't know how to share." He joked. He laughed to show he truly was kidding.

Mac continued to follow Sloane. He let her order and even pay, "You did not have to pay. You must let me pay for a meal." He would insist. He had some money on him. "Lucky for me I do not believe in curses. I just think this was the schools way of kickng the kids." Mac said not sure she would get the joke. He had a way about him. To him thinking the school kicked the kids out was pretty funny.

"DA, has a ring to it. Isn't there something else that has those initials. District something, as you can tell I have much to learn." He said to her as he got his drink and took a sip, "Strawberry, with a taste of lime....lemon..." He wasn't sure so he sipped it again, "Is it common for strawberry and lemon to be mixed?" He asked unaware he had been handed the wrong drink, and of course he could taste the lemon. He had never had strawberry mixed with lemon.

Mac was enjoying this friendliness. Flirting with girls helped him with his game so why not. He started to laugh at the nickname she was going to give him, "You can call me Irish, if I can call you Red." He motioned to her hair looking reddish blond, so him red seemed appriopiate. Perhaps not but for some reason the name stood out, "Or you can try my real name, MacKenzie, but most people call me Mac." He said smiling, "And you are? What would you like?" He asked. Gestering to the hot dog stand. "I am starting to like this country much more."

[Sloane Taylor]

"Disappointing," she huffed jokingly. When he said something about not knowing how to share, Sloane related and grinned. "I know exactly how that is. I'm pretty much the same. Although I wouldn't mind people sharing me. Plenty to go around." So she was very vocal about her...propensities, it didn't mean Mac understood what she was saying. Or if he did, he hadn't shown any signs of it. But if he did... Okay so there was seriously something wrong with Sloane, even if she didn't want to admit it. She should be checked into a clinic.

"Oh don't put yourself too far down." She bumped his shoulder once more with her own, grinning. "You're not so bad." As they continued on to the shop and got their orders, Sloane laughed at his statements. "First off, you're my guest. Second of all that's hilarious. I mean finally a school that knows exactly what it's purpose in life ought to be. Kicking kids and hanging them out to dry."

"District attorney. Which actually wouldn't be a bad job." For her maybe. Long hours, low pay. It was a perfect set up for daddy's little rich girl. "It's okay...I'm good at teaching." Which was semi-true. She did teach Nolan how to enjoy other things besides kissing. Sucking on her straw, she realised she had taken the wrong cup and when Mac started saying he tasted something different, she chuckled.

"Ah...we have the wrong cup. And I don't know if it's common. But I like it. You can have it if you like." She could settle for some plain strawberry. It was delicious either way. She liked her new nickname and laughed at it. "I've never been called that before. Sounds good on me coming from you. I'll take it." They were nearing the hot dog stan and as she sipped her smoothie, she grinned wickedly before turning to him. "You know what...I asked for strawberry and lemon and by God I will get me some."

She chuckled before pulling him down to press her lips on his, using her tongue to swipe it across his lips, getting the zesty taste into her mouth. Once she was done, she stepped back and grinned, using her thumb to wipe her lower lip. "Mmm...tangy." She chuckled before grinning up at the hot dog man. "Two please. And make mine with extra mustard and relish. Thanks. Make sure you double wrap mine. I have a habit of choosing the wrong ones."

"I think I'll stick with Irish. I'm Sloane." They got their hot dogs and this time she got the right one and asked for peppers to go with it. She got two fat ones and she bit into it before taking a bite out of her hot dog. "Oh yum..."