Typical Tuesday Morning (open tag)

[Lace Kellan]

Having a strict routine to follow worked wonders for Lace. It meant she didn't have to over or underestimate what would happen to her in a course of a day. External forces beyond her control rarely happened due to her stringent policy of following exactly what she made her timetable out as.

Waking up at five am was crucial as she had a lot of things to do before the sun was up. She had to make herself a protein shake before her daily 45 minute jog around the neighborhood. Which is usually followed by half an hour of dog walking for Mrs Trousdale's German Shepherd named Hound. Following that is her one hour tennis practice with her father's friend Mr Grieger. Her ten minute shower and dress up time allowed her fifteen minutes for breakfast and she was on her way to school. Usually she would meet with some of her debate team members and discuss their upcoming competition with their rival teams and then school starts.

Lace was used to this timetable and had been for the past three years and as she sat in the empty classroom of her Physical Science class, waiting for her classmates to arrive, she thought if anything happened to have stopped her from going through her day, she literally wouldn't know what to do with herself.

She smiled to herself as she took out her notebook and started to scribble around the edges of a fresh page.

[Tyler Durnham]

Every day was generally a good one for Tyler Durnham. After all, he was Tyler Durnham, it was hard not to enjoy being such an objection of lust and adoration (from the ladies, though the occasional guy was to be expected) and object of respect and admiration (from the guys). But, today, the sun shone a little bit brighter, the birds were a little bit chirpier, and the coffee he picked up from Starbucks on his way to school tasted just that little bit better.

And there was one primary reason for his good mood. He had, finally, won over Magdalena Veloz. He knew he would eventually, he reasoned with himself now that he believed his objective achieved, it was all just a matter of time. If the girl had wanted to play hard to get after all, he was more than happy to chase. But he won in the end, he always won in the end. So, he looked forward to their date that night, an opportunity to further charm her, and, as annoying it was to admit, he looked forward to enjoying her company. There was just something different about the girl, unusual, that appealed to him. And he had started reading her book last night, the H.P. Lovecraft, as promised. It was...well, different, but not altogether unenjoyable.

Making his way to his locker, he passed by an open classroom, and the sight of the cute girl sitting idly inside gave him reason to pause. Staring at her for a moment, her name occurred to him, as well as the reason he would want to remember her name. A smile warming his face now, he walked into the almost empty room, pulling up a chair beside her. “Lace, I don’t think we’ve properly met. I’m Tyler Durnham.” he grinned. “And my friend, Bree, wanted me to give you this. It’s an invitation to a brunch on Saturday.” Digging into his messenger bag, he found her invitation, handing it over. “It would be great if you could make it. A whole group of us is going.”

[Lace Kellan]

She had filled three back to back pages of scribbling without even noticing until a presence in the room made her look up and face the dashingly handsome Tyler Durnham whose reputation as a player preceded him. She was a Silver but she knew Tyler since most of the Silver girls were always talking about their huge crushes on him and then the rest of the Silver girls who thought he should be avoided like a plague because he's broken so many hearts.

But now that she was face to face with him, she understood exactly what the girls were talking about. He had the face of an angel who was capable of utter damage. She placed her pen down beside her notebook and closed the book, pushing it away from her before turning to face him. "Hi Tyler Durnham." She smiled although her heart was beating fast. She was not used to being suave and she obviously had no experience whatsoever with boys but she got her act together enough to finish off this conversation. Besides, she knew it was going to be shortlived anyway.

She was surprised that Bree Marcus was extending an invitation for her to brunch, she was more surprised that Bree Marcus knew her. Being in Gould for the past weeks had taught her enough that Bree Marcus was a force to be reckoned with. Her party had been the talk of the whole school. It was really too bad that she didn't go but here Bree was inviting Lace to brunch. Why she would do that was beyond Lace. She was not, however, going to look a gift horse in the mouth so she took the envelope and placed it on her table. "I'll be sure to attend. Is there anything else I should bring?" She asked, looking up at Tyler. She was a little afraid of the good looking boy.

[Tyler Durnham]

She seemed a little nervous around him, in awe maybe, which suited Tyler to a tee and he relaxed even more in Lace’s presence. That was what he was used to after all, the girls in his company being in thrall around him, staring with admiration and lust in their eyes. And there was comfort in the familiar after all. Perhaps Maggy could have taken a few pointers from Lace and her ilk. And the girl was cute, there was far worse things than attempting to charm her before class.

“No, nothing else is needed. Knowing Bree, she has everything planned straight down to the last fork.” Tyler laughed softly, his eyes locked completely on the girl opposite. He was looking forward to the brunch, any occasion where he was greatly outnumbered by beautiful woman was to be celebrated. And the formality of it was something he was well used to by now, from his father’s insistence that he learnt to function in such occasions from a young age. He had to live up to the family name after all. Admittedly though, he often preferred his parties with the rest of the football team, getting drunk and hooking up with as many women as possible. Bree’s party was not too dissimilar to this, no wonder he had enjoyed himself so much.

“I just hope the seating arrangements allow me to talk with you.” A line he used with all the women he handed the invitations to so far, or some variation of it. He had to win over each girl, have her fawning over him. For Bree’s benefit after all, and he liked to think himself a good friend. He pretended to notice now her book full of scribbling, and leaned over a little to look at it, though it was only an excuse to let his fingertips trail over her arm. “Impatient for class to start?” he grinned.

[Lace Kellan]

Smiling politely, Lace nodded when Tyler reassured her that she need not bring anything else. She wouldn't know what to bring anyway. She hardly knew Bree Marcus. Before the party of the month, Lace only knew Bree as a Gould cheerleader. Quiet, blends in the crowd...much like Lace, actually. Except Bree was far more well to do than Lace could ever hope to be. Not that Lace had anything to complain about in that department. She was actually quite glad her family wasn't rich. She believed money was the root of all evil.

Not fully aware of how close Tyler was getting until his hand was practically covering hers, Lace jumped slightly at the contact. She quickly retracted her hand from Tyler's light grip and leaned back in her chair. His words came back to her and she gulped inaudibly. Tyler's apparent flirting mode made Lace very uncomfortable and she started to laugh nervously for a beat, stopping herself in time before it got out of control. "I'm so sure you'd want to spend the whole day talking to just me, Tyler." She giggled, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Well, that went well. She wasn't out to insult Tyler, not in the very least. She was actually saying those things so she'd be buffered from the inevitable brushoff she would get once they were both at the brunch invitation and Tyler was so far away she couldn't even shout at him to get his attention.

Snatching her notebook away from Tyler, she threw it down into her open bag by her feet, still chuckling nervously. "I'm always impatient for class to start. A habit of mine. One that would probably be considered as freaky since what kind of student gets excited for class, am I right?" Gosh darn it, now she was babbling. She looked up at Tyler and pushed him away from her slightly with a little hesitant tap on his shoulder. "I value personal space. Sorry." Lace looked apologetic too. The smile that crossed her face was an awkward and nervous one but at least it was something. She didn't want Tyler to think she was being rude.

[Tyler Durnham]

This was becoming much more fun than Tyler had first assumed it would be. Perhaps he should consider doing more favours for Bree in the future. And it was clearly becoming obvious the advantages of having a female friend, a platonic female friend, and one he didn’t constantly try to provoke, and vice versa. So far, since he’d become much closer friends with the young woman, he had attended a school memorial with a beautiful girl on his arm, went to a slumber party that was attended by a whole bevy of beauties who were all scantily clad and quite interested with him, and enjoyed the opportunity to flirt with quite a number of cute girls, as he completed the ‘chore’ she enlisted him with. He should have made female friends quite a long time ago. But for now, he was content with just the two, having much more would limit the number of ‘options’ available to him.

“Why wouldn’t I want to spend as much time as possible enjoying the company of a beautiful girl like yourself?” he asked, running a hand through his locks as he studied her in keen interest. He wasn’t the least bit deterred as she discretely moved away from him, no, it only garnered more interest from him. As did her nerves, and her babbling. Girls like that were easily caught up in his charms, just how he liked it.

“Well, and this isn’t commonly known, but I enjoy class too. Well, a couple of them anyway. Always found my American Literature and Government classes interesting. And PE, though that’s a given.” he laughed. “I know what you’re thinking. A footballer who is not only capable of clear, somewhat intelligent thought, but actually enjoys it? Can you imagine if it got out? The scandal!” Tyler smiled again, his blue eyes bright with amusement.

If he hadn’t already had plans and a girl in his sights, he would consider pursuing Lace. There was still always another time for that however. The girl seemed sweet, naive even, perhaps inexperienced, and he was sure, with a bit of time and effort on his behalf, he could have her eating out of the palm of his hand. And she would soon forget her love of personal space. “No need to apologise, I’m sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable at all.”

Stretching his legs out in front of him, he watched her, his head tilted just slightly, knowing girls found that quite sexy. And he was always happy to oblige with what women liked after all. Tyler lived to please. “You weren’t at Bree’s party were you? No, I would have remembered seeing you there.” he answered his own question. “It’s a pity, I think you would have quite enjoyed it. And I would have loved seeing you in your pjs.” he grinned. “Well, I’m thinking of when it rolls around, getting Bree to organise a party for me, seeing how good of a job she did of her own. I’ll make sure that you’re on the guest list.”

[Lace Kellan]

Lace shook her head in amusement at Tyler's blatant flirting but she knew better than to fall for it. She knew too much about Tyler Durnham to succumb to his charms. "Probably because you can enjoy the company of a whole number of beautiful girls and I am probably not that high up on the list. And besides...Bree Marcus is your friend. So is Sloane Taylor. I hardly think I make the cut in garnering your attention."

When Tyler started talking about how he too enjoyed classes and started to compliment himself, Lace blanched a little. Even the amused twinkle in his eyes didn't convince Lace that much. Tyler Durnham really did love himself too much. "Yeah...the whole school will be buzzing about a jock actually having a brain." Lace laughed quietly.

The fact that Tyler actually apologised was kind of sweet. it might not hold too much meaning to it but at least he said it. "It's okay. I'm just not used to having anyone get too close."

The tilt of Tyler's head, although undeniably sexy, was completely a cheeseball move and Lace couldn't help but straighten it up. "Don't want you to sprain your neck there, Tyler. And why would anyone want to see me in my Care Bears pjs?" Lace laughed at the notion. "They're purple and kinda ratty. But I love 'em all the same."

Tyler was inviting her to his birthday party? "Wait...why would you want to invite me though? We don't even know each other. I'm quite surprised Bree even knows who I am. I mean I know her obviously but that's only because she's a cheerleader but I'm kind of nobody in this school..." Lace frowned slightly, seriously pondering why anyone would know her. Especially these popular kids.

[Tyler Durnham]

“That’s what you think? Well, everyone is titled to their opinions. So you are completely entitled to think I sought you out, hand delivered your invitation, and lingered behind in a quiet classroom, where I would get you all to myself, because I wanted to make sure you got the invitation.” Tyler grinned, enjoying his game. Sure, he had a date planned with Maggy that night, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t flirt, and while it was a date, he didn’t seem them as properly ‘dating’ yet, at least not exclusively. Tyler hadn’t made that sacrifice for any woman yet, it would take a lot from Maggy to convince him to now.

“Then I’ll keep my distance. Until I can convince you to allow me to...get closer.” Oh, the girl clearly had no idea how to take him. This was just too entertaining. If he was a kinder person, he would cut things short now, find a polite way to excuse himself, given how obviously uncomfortable she was around him. But, it was Tyler Durnham after all, so he did what would suit him best, and stayed.

He laughed at the mention of ratty pjs. “Well, for all you know, I could have worn my rattiest pjs to Bree’s party. But I must admit, all my night wear is sorely lacking in the sleep wear department. Used to like the Care Bears when I was much younger though. Had a soft spot for Champ Bear.”

“We’re getting to know each other now. Besides, my birthday is not for a while, until April, so we have plenty of time to get better acquainted.” Tyler offered with a grin. “To be honest, I can’t tell you how you caught Bree’s attention, why she invited you to her brunch.” Not true, but he wasn’t about to say that his good friend was looking for some impressionable lackeys to do her bidding. From what he’d seen of Lace so far, he still wasn’t sure if she would be suitable or not. “I can tell you why you caught my attention though, if you’re interested.” he laughed lightly. “I must have caught your attention before though, if you’ve happened to have noticed who my friends are. And I have to say Lace, I’m very flattered.”

[Lace Kellan]

She couldn't help but giggle quietly as Tyler convinced her that he had indeed wanted to spend time with her. It just didn't seem right. Guys like Tyler Durnham usually never thought girls like Lace Kellan even existed so they don't bother trying to get to know her. Which works out for her since she didn't know how to handle herself around boys. Especially ones who looked like Tyler.

In the middle of Tyler's monologue, Lace found herself getting closer to Tyler as she leaned on the table, her elbows digging into the wood as her chin rested on the palm of her hand. She was grinning as Tyler spoke of how he would be keeping his distance. His description of his lack of pajamas amused her deeply and she found herself chuckling at his account. Lace knew she was beginning to like the attention far too much and she knew she was getting way too deep into this. But somehow she couldn't have cared less. So much for trying to prove that Tyler couldn't get under every girl's skin.

Lace's eyes sparkled in amusement as he ratted her out for knowing too much about him. With a laugh, she explained herself. "I'm a heavy consumer of rumors and gossips and the past week, I have seen you with Bree and Sloane a lot. It's not surprising seeing that Sloane is in track and Bree's a cheerleader. You travel in packs, don't you?" Lace grinned. "Although I have to say that I am flattered as well that I have caught your attention. I don't know what I did but it's nice to be noticed sometimes. Especially by someone as good looking as you." Lace congratulated herself for sounding like an airhead, even though she had never liked anyone who insulted their own intelligence for the sole purpose of being seen or heard.

"Seeing that you enjoy class so much, don't you think it's time for you to actually get to it? As much as I am enjoying this rather amusing and very enlightening conversation, classes will be starting soon and I don't want you to get a tardy just because of little old me." By God, was she flirting with Tyler Durnham? If her hand on his did not indicate that, she wasn't sure what would.

[Tyler Durnham]

Well, this was quite a turn around, Tyler decided, watching the slow changes to how Lace was around him. He expected it of course, very few women could resist his charms. And it was good to know he still had it. He was slightly worried his odd behaviour the past couple of weeks (attempting to date, helping out a friend in time of need, being nice and far too soft in general) might have affected him in some way, so it was a relief to find he still had the touch.

The girl was learning quickly, if she was as new to this game as he believed. The flutter of her eyelashes, the way she smiled, the keen interest in her eyes as she moved closer to him. For a faint moment, he was reminded of Coco, the girl the closest to a proper ex he had. After all, he wouldn’t really have considered himself to have dated her, though her thoughts might differ, but he did spend a lot of time with the girl, for a fling. There was no denying the girl was gorgeous, and it was always a treat to walk into any place with her on his arm, and enjoy the looks. But Lace, he realised, wasn’t much like the girl. So far it seemed she could think, so, nothing alike.

“No, you’re not a Gossip Girl fan are you?” Tyler teased, but he wasn’t one to talk. He didn’t go around gossiping, but he found it wise to keep himself informed on the goings on of the school, at least with the people worth knowing. Knowledge was power after all. And so was money, good looks, charm. It was lucky for him that he was gifted with all four. “I do tend to ‘travel in packs.” he chuckled. “But, that doesn’t explain my relationship with both girls. I’ve actually known Sloane for a while, my father is friendly with her parents. And Bree, well, I had used to mainly only know her as Sloane’s friend, but she’s had it tough, the past week or so, so I’ve been helping out where I can.” He cut himself short at this, not wanting to risk sounding too nice.

And she was even so emboldened now as to offer him a compliment. He was good. “It would be near impossible not to notice someone like you.” he smiled softly, before laughing when she suggested she wouldn’t want to make him late for class. He’d never gotten a tardy in his life. Not because he’d never been late to class, but because he was able to talk himself out of one. It was always fun. “Well, in that case, I would hate for you to have me getting a tardy on your conscious, so I’ll take my leave.” he smiled gently, with a soft tilt of his head.

He moved his hand so that he was now holding hers, bringing it to his lips so he could brush a soft kiss on her skin. ”Well Lace, thank you very much for your charming company. I hope to see you on Saturday, though, I really hope I’ll see you before then.” With one last grin, he stood, leaving the class room. He’d have to remember to tell Bree, they had a prime candidate.

Wrapped for Tyler