Early Bird Rises (Peter)

[Avery Jacobs]

Avery sucked in her cheeks slightly, her eyes rolling at the ruckus heard downstairs. People were actually making noise at four o’ clock in the morning, and while she might’ve just tried to go back to sleep, the brunette really wasn’t in the mood to let things go. Finally unable to hold her annoyance in any longer, the girl stood, walked out of her dorm and to the common room where a group of freshman girls sat giggling and screaming. “Can you please shut up? Some of us are trying to get some peace at four o’ clock in the morning!” she said, her voice groggy and tired.

Four pairs of eyes nearly stopped moving, paralyzed in fear they had been caught by some adult for sneaking down so early in the morning, but then their fear increased as they realized it was Avery. While everyone in the white house was pretty close, the brunette wasn’t going to let anyone close or not get away with ruining her good hearted sleep. She doubted she would be able to fall asleep and again and she stalked back to her room, Avery grumbled to herself. So what if she looked like an old person? The girl honestly didn’t care who saw her like this at the moment, hair disheveled and eyes groggy.

Shoving herself back into bed, Avery managed to only get a few more hours of sleep before waking back up at five thirty. Her eyes refused to stay shut after that. The girl sighed, deciding if she couldn’t go to sleep, she might as well do something more productive. Exercise seemed like the best alternative as it always was and Avery hopped out of bed, grabbing her thermal and a pair of baggy sweatpants. She quickly readied herself in the bathroom, tying her hair up into a pony tail and pulling on sneakers. The thermal kept her warm and she grabbed a granola bar before taking her favorite soccer ball and heading out of her dorm.

No one really was awake at this time, but Avery had decided that was best. She smiled softly to herself as she approached the field, it’s quietness standing proudly in the reddish glow of the sun rise. Six o’ clock. Perfect time for exercise. The brunette put the ball on the ground and began to dribble it back and forth, doing little tricks with her feet as she went.

[Peter Holden]

Peter awoke rather early in the morning to the sound of birds chattering outside of his window. He would have been irritated, but who could become angry with birds? Certainly not Peter. He gave a small groan and rolled out of bed, pulling his sheets and covers quickly up behind him. There was no use in trying to go back to sleep now, as the time zones were still messing with him a little. He was getting more used to the switch now, but he still had issues falling asleep and waking up.

He quickly and quietly got dressed, not wanting to wake his roommate who was still asleep. Sometimes when get awoke this early, he'd visit Thimble, but figured that today he should probably try to get some exercise before his classes. He usually ran or practiced football after all of his classes, but as long as he was awake, he could do it now, and then ride Thimble later. He pulled on a long sleeve T-shirt and a pullover, knowing that he would probably get cold on the way down to the field, as well as a pair of tracksuit trousers and his sneakers.

With that, he made his way down to the field, planning on taking a run. He was expecting the field to be empty, and was interested when he saw the silhouette of a girl with a soccer ball in the morning light. She seemed rather good, and as he began to jog after stretching a bit, he made a point to pass her. It was that girl. He stopped slowly, walking over to her. "Hello Washington" he greeted her, smiling slightly. It was true that he'd been spending more time around the field lately in hopes of finding her, but he hadn't expected her this time, in the morning.

[Avery Jacobs]

Waking up early hadn’t usually been Avery’s thing. She was more of a night owl, though with sports, it was anything. Exercise was how she blew off all the steam she had at the world, and it perhaps was one of the only the things that kept her from going crazy during the hectic time period of her life. Avery didn’t doubt she would have more later on, but lately, the girl was trying her best to keep in the clear. The last thing she needed was to become the girl angry at the whole world again. That had been a depressing period for her father as well, since she had placed the blame on everyone. Leo just was the unlucky one that had ended up with the majority of it.

The morning dew coated nearly everything green on the field, immediately causing the girl’s sneakers to make occasional squeaks as she dribbled and ran. The ball, slick under her feet with wet glistened in the sun as did her hair. The damp morning clung to Avery’s body; keeping her enfolded in some sort of personal haven she had created herself. The brunette felt somewhat free where she was, alone in the sun’s first rays.

Avery placed a wet sneaker on the slippery ball, attempting one of her soccer tricks. Her eyes narrowed in focus as she attempted it once more, kicking it up and letting it roll down her back. It fell off track as it went up however and she exhaled in frustration, placing her foot and weight on it once again. The sound of a voice broke through her concentration however, and she jumped, putting all of her weight onto the slippery ball. Avery let out a little 'oof' as she slipped in the air right onto her butt as the ball ran away.

The girl shot daggers to the voice that came, before her eyes focused on the boy, Peter. Her temper calmed slightly, and she nodded to him “Well, Red Coat. That’s been twice.” she said dryly, before standing back up and shooting him a grin to let him know he was forgiven. She wasn’t going to hold a grudge against Peter, especially when it hadn’t been his fault. Avery jogged over to where the ball was and inspected her very damp sweat pants. She sighed before kicking it over to Peter. “Despite my rather… graceful descent to the ground, good morning Peter. Might I ask what you’re doing up so early?” she asked, a smirk settling over her lips.

[Peter Holden]

Peter watched her attempt some sort of trick, and couldn't help the glint that formed in his eye. It looked difficult, and he was sure that he couldn't do it himself, but she tried with such an admirable perseverance. His tennis shoes were already soaking through from the damp grass, and he sighed. He hated the feeling of having his socks all wet, and should have stuck to running on some paths, since people probably wouldn't be walking on them this early anyways.

All thoughts of that disappeared when he noticed that it was that girl, and he realized that he must have surprised her a bit too late when she slipped and fell to the ground. He quickly stepped over to her instinctively, ready to help her up, when she addressed him, using his nickname once again, and stood up. He stepped back, not wanting to get in her way. "I am so, so sorry!" he apologized, his voice rushed, running his fingers through his hair. "I really...this shouldn't be happening so often! It's odd!" He was quite baffled by having run into her spontaneously for the third time, but couldn't help but be glad to see her. He exchanged an apologetic smile for her grin, glad to know that she wasn't upset with him.

"Good morning Washington," he smiled, stopping the ball she'd passed with his foot. He dribbled it between his feet for a couple moments before passing it back to her. "Early?" he grinned, a bit slyly, "This, unfortunately, has been my normal time lately." He shrugged. Waking so early had stopped bothering him as much as it did at first, and he soon learned that it just gave him more time to do other things earlier in the day. "What about you?" he asked. He'd been wondering the same thing about her, as well as if she was usually up this early.

[Avery Jacobs]

Making a fool of herself was something Avery seriously despised. It had been twice now, she’d made a fool of herself with Peter and she was surprised he hadn’t filed her away as a nutcase. In her opinion, she was acting a bit nutsy for her usual taste. To add to her extreme shock, this had been three times she had randomly managed to stumble to the boy at particularly odd times in the day. While she wasn’t a big fan on the whole coincidence theories, Avery couldn’t help but feel a bit spooked. Still, she was glad she kept running into him, instead of someone that she didn’t particularly like as much.

Avery gave the boy a somewhat dry look as he apologized quite frantically and then exclaimed about how they happened to be running into each other so often. True, it was a bit crazy, but the girl wasn’t going to let her shock show. The dry look turned into a smirk as she looked at him, her face a total blank as usual when she was going to release some blunt statement of some kind. “Actually, I don’t mind. You’re not a bad person to keep running into.” Avery shrugged at this, giving him a grin finally to let him know he was forgiven for scaring the crap out of her- yet again.

She smiled again at the use of her nickname. Avery then remembered her end of the deal she had given him. She supposed it was her turn to give him her name but decided against it unless he asked her outright. Simply like a monopoly game when you landed on someone’s space and they forgot to ask for the rent. Avery nearly smirked at the thought of this, wondering when he’d remember. She honestly didn’t mind being called Washington, rather she found it quite entertaining how they had nicknames for each other. The brunette raised a brow as Peter dribbled the ball between his feet and passed it back to her.

Stopping it by placing a foot on top of it, she gave him an ominous look. Perhaps would be a good time to keep her end of the bargain. Both eyebrows raising at his response to her question, she kept silent wondering why the boy woke up so early. Sure, she woke up early too at times, but only when her body had excess energy or when something was bothering her. Perhaps, that was why she had woken up early today. Hearing the question shot back at her, Avery was at a loss of words for once. Why had she woken up so early again? She decided to go with the easiest answer. “Some girls in my house decided to have a fun fest at four o’ clock in the morning and I thought I’d blow off steam here.” she rolled the ball around some, sucking her cheek before looking up at Peter. “Care to join?” Avery kicked the ball back and forth between her feet, waiting for him to come and steal it.

[Peter Holden]

Peter didn't quite know what to think of how he kept running into this girl. He hadn't really experienced anything of the sort, and it was quite clear that neither of them had intended for it to happen. He was quite fond of the romanticized theory of coincidences and fate bringing people together, but somehow it didn't seem to quite fit with this case. The first time he'd startled her, he'd felt terrible, but it had almost seemed equal to how she had startled him when they'd first met. He reminded himself to make sure that the next time they met it was on purpose, with no surprises, though he wouldn't be quite as shocked if she ended up startling him again. He was, of course, easily startled, and surprised that it was her this time.

He watched her blank expression closely, though he'd become a bit used to it already. Her face conformed into it quite often, and though it still made him a bit uneasy, nothing really unpleasant had ever followed so he was becoming rather comfortable with it. "The same can be said for you. Thank you." It was the truth...he had been looking forward to seeing her again, though he hadn't imagined it would be so soon.

Peter had, of course, realized that he still didn't know her name even though he'd told her his. He quite liked the not knowing, and found himself putting it off every time he came close to asking. Before he departed from her today, he promised himself, he would find out her name. It would make finding her on purpose easier of course, for whenever they would schedule their art escapades. It was quickly becoming clear that this morning could very well be their football session.

The ominous look she gave him quite suited her, which he found rather odd. It may have looked silly on anyone else, but it somehow fit her. He winced his eyes sympathetically at her explanation of why she was up so early. He was certainly glad that he hadn't encountered any similar antics in the Red Ribbon House. Many of his housemates seemed to be on the quieter side anyways. His soft brown eyes followed the ball as she rolled it around, and rather than vocalizing his answer, he gave a somewhat distracted looking nod.

Looking up from the ball, he appraised her for a moment. It almost appeared that she was challenging him to steal the ball from her, and he hesitated a moment before jogging towards her. He was a bit distracted, looking up at her face for a moment to try to see if she was going to try to trick him. It was odd, stealing a ball from a target who was staying mostly in the same spot. Normally, he would have tried to get the defender to let the ball get further away from them when dribbling, but that method probably wouldn't work for this. Approaching her a bit faster, he decided his best bet was to try to just swipe by her and steal the football away from her. Sure, it had it's faults, but sometimes simple may be better.

[Avery Jacobs]

For once, the brunette couldn’t help but feel a bit self-conscious under Peter’s observing gaze. She supposed it came with him being an artist, but Avery had never been looked at in such a way of interest other than the few boys she’d ever come across. When it came to relationships, the girl hadn’t really been in the lucky side. She’d broken her heart a fair amount of times and lately, after her mother’s death, it had simply come down to one night stands. Well, before it had. Before BRRA came into the picture. Avery had tremendously toned down at BRRA, and despite her earlier wild child stage, she had a certain seriousness to her now.

Still, Avery was slowly getting used to the boy’s watchful looking, though she wasn’t over the complete nervousness. She wasn’t open to the idea of people seeing past the tough mask she put up and judging by the way Peter looked at her caused her to believe, perhaps, he’d unlocked just a bit. The thought was just enough to make her shiver. There was no surprise he had a mask on him too and while Avery was intrigued about this, she found herself trying to keep her own mask intact. Still, she wasn’t stupid. Avery knew if she kept hanging out with Peter, the same way she allowed herself to relax around him, he would realize quite soon who she was inside. Truthfully, Avery wasn’t quite sure anymore.

Avery’s blank expression turned into an intrigued look as Peter replied back to her in a rather shy voice. She smiled slightly at this, finding his admittance a good thing. It was nice to know someone that she liked – which in was a rare situation – liked her back. A friend at BRRA didn’t sound like it would hurt, though Avery had been down that path before. Being the queen bee, as most put it, before her mother had died, she had ruled her middle school sweetly and prettily, only becoming popular with the attention she’d received from the boys. Still, as Avery had grown harsh after the incident, her friends lessened to a population of zero. Talking to Peter reminded her of how lonely she’d been back then.

Maybe some change was actually good. Avery frowned slightly as the boy winced at her explanation for being up so early. She chuckled slightly “Well… I don’t think they’ll be doing that again. I can be pretty scary at four o’ clock in the morning…” she said, her face thoughtful at the terrified faces of the freshman girls. Yeah, so she had snapped at them. It was no different than her daily schedule and she didn’t regret it.

Peeking up at Peter while keeping an eye on the ball between her feet, she dared him to steal it from her. Avery hadn’t played soccer for fun with someone in what seemed like forever. Heck, it had been before her mother died. A giggle popped out of her mouth as he advanced to her, easily seeing his plan. She expertly flipped herself around in a smooth heartbeat, switching the ball along with her as he passed. Embarrassed from that giggle, Avery dribbled it forward, but slower, allowing him to try and steal it again. She had played soccer for quite a while and was pretty good, but she was rusty so he had a chance if he was any good.

[Peter Holden]

Peter was aware of how he could sometimes watch people maybe too much. He'd often tried to stop, but he just found some people so intriguing, and watching them seemed the best way to get to know them. Under his careful eyes, few things went unnoticed. He certainly didn't mean to make her uncomfortable, and forced himself to stop whenever she seemed to notice. He certainly watched her eyes the most, as they were the most obvious window into someone, but he often forgot how the big picture mattered as well. He just wished that he'd had a chance to watch her from afar, like he did with most people before meeting them. But no, with this girl, everything was a bit of a surprise, and he'd had no such lucky situation.

It was not difficult for Peter to see that she was not all she portrayed herself to be. The question though, was who she really was. He'd gotten hints of her through their conversations, but the girl really did a wonderful job of hiding whatever it was that she wanted to conceal. Peter didn't really want to look into it to far, as he'd rather find out from her eventually if the time ever came. Besides, he knew very well himself what it was like to hide things.

Peter was quite happy that he had made a friend in this girl. He'd never been really popular at his old school, but not the opposite either. He'd hung at the frayed edges of the social circles in his school, neither in, nor out. He had a couple of friends, none that were exclusively his though. This friendship was something different, and he quite liked it.

He chuckled lightly at her comment, "Can't we all?" He'd been pretty groggy walking down to the field, and had it not been for the cold and seeing this girl, he probably would have been in a pretty bad mood himself. He had no trouble picturing her snapping at a huddle of rowdy girls, but he preferred that the image not stick in his mind.

When she swept the ball away from him with a giggle, he blurted out, grinning in exasperation, "Don't laugh!" Immediately afterwards, his cheeks reddened from his outburst, realizing how silly it must have sounded. This was precisely why he always had to consider his words before he said them. As she began to move in the opposite direction, he ran after her, closing in on her right side, trying to force her to move the ball left. If it worked correctly, she'd have to dribble a bit to the left and he'd be able to dart around her, stealing the ball for himself. He felt awkward and gawky around her, in his tall, skinny frame, to what seemed to him as her effortless elegance. She wasn't terribly short, but was in comparison to him, and he felt as if he were towering over her.

[Avery Jacobs]

Avery in a bad mood was not one to be messed with. Along with her usual snappy nature, the girl resembled somewhat like a momma grizzly bear when pissed off in the slightest way. Surprisingly however, this didn’t seem to affect her even after Peter had caused her to jump. Avery couldn’t find fault with the boy, rather found him quite intriguing. He seemed too quiet, too sweet to be shouted at and the girl couldn’t find herself doing that. She couldn’t find herself doing that no matter what he did, though she had limits of her own. Avery sometimes had outbursts of emotion, but she was starting enjoy these little unscheduled meetings with her friend.

Due to her honest nature, the brunette hated the fact she was something else inside. Still, the death of her mother and the loss her farm had hardened her up to the point where her finest trait, her honesty, was even flawed a bit. Even more so, Avery was slowly starting to realize her lie was slowly becoming who she was. The worst part was the thought she couldn’t stop it even if she wanted to. No one had the patience back home to bring her back to her sweet self, though her grandparents had attempted in sending her to BRRA. Whether it would work out or not would be up to the events she was headed for.

Avery raised a brow at the boy’s answer, trying to see him being as cranky and snappy as she had been. Finally, she shook her head giving him her usual blunt replies. “No Peter… I can’t imagine you being mean.” Her face emotionless yet thoughtful for a few moments before she grinned. Avery knew she could be a total puppy’s mother at times, and honestly, she didn’t care if she was being a jerk to people she didn’t care about. Which really was, pretty much everyone other than her family. And Peter now. Avery liked having an actual conversation with the boy and she wasn’t planning on pushing him away anytime soon.

As she swept the ball away from his nearing feet, Avery couldn’t help but laugh all the more harder at his exclamation before attempting to shut the grin away. Finally she gave up, chuckling away as she dribbled down the field. She couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed so much. It seemed like galaxies away. The brunette raised a brow at his attempt to tackle her right. It didn’t seem like the most ingenious plan and she easily pushed the ball onto her left. The boy’s tall frame towering over hers caused her to realize how tall Peter was in comparison to her. Avery was not short, but she wasn’t immensely tall either. Her build was tall for a female however and her skinny frame danced as she dribbled.

[Peter Holden]

Peter didn't really have a reason for having a shell built around him. It was just how he was, or, the lack of how he was. Too afraid of what people thought of him, he hid himself. His shell wasn't really painted in any way, with no illusions to make him something he wasn't. It was more like a translucent glass shell, frosted over so that one could only barely see inside. One could see once he thawed to them, melting the frost and making their part of the glass clear. That's how he thought about it at least, and frankly, he was becoming rather nervous about thawing out Avery's part of the glass. It didn't happen often, but when it did, it was rather terrifying. Somehow though, he almost wanted her to see more of him.

He cocked his head a degree at her response, a bit worried by it. "I can't imagine you being mean." It took him a second to conjure up a response, as he wasn't really sure what to say. "I suppose I'm glad. And I hope you'll have to keep trying to imagine." He didn't want her to see him angry, because when he was, which was rare, it was not very good at all. Usually, whatever it was had been stewing up inside of him for quite a while, and it just sort of exploded. It was usually a little thing that set him off, like the straw that broke the camel's back. He hoped, prayed, that she'd never have to see that. Or any of his other emotional breakdowns either. Especially a panic attack.

As she avoided him again, he gave a bit of an exasperated sigh, "You're making a fool of me." He wasn't going to blush about this though, and gave a wry smile. It was clear that she was more skilled than him, and he should just learn from it, and try to have fun. He extended his run, long legs flying over the slippery ground, and he just prayed that he wouldn't fall. He got a bit ahead of her, and switched around, catching the ball with his foot on the way past and beginning to dribble in the other direction, glancing quickly behind him before continuing on. He didn't have the extremely competitive streak that Kate did, but he still liked to at least keep up with his opponent. It wouldn't be long before Avery got the ball back, but he'd keep it while he could. At least he'd learn a thing or two, which was, after all, the purpose.

[Avery Jacobs]

Avery gave the boy a curious look as he replied to her admittance of unable to imagine him angry. To her surprise, the thought sent shivers down her back. She decided very quickly she didn’t want to ever see Peter angry. It made her wonder what she would do in return. The girl winced slightly as she remembered her explosion back in Gabe’s office. She wondered what a lunatic Peter would think she was had he seen that. Thank God the boy hadn’t seen her dark side quite yet. Avery just hoped if he ever did, he wouldn’t hold her for a nutcase and totally decide to leave her alone.

At this point, the girl had actually gotten quite lonely and thought she was okay with it. But as the boy came into the picture, Avery was quickly realizing how much she had longed for company. If that companionship was taken away from her, she’d sure reach her breaking point. Still, with all the serious troubles going through her head, Avery was too happy at the moment to get into her rather sad mood. While she did have that seemingly broken record look, the brunette lit up once more as they engaged into a very interesting game of soccer.

She shook her head slightly with a chuckle as he expressed that she was making a fool of him. The last thing Peter could ever be was a fool. Had he been even close to that, Avery wouldn’t have bothered speaking to him. The girl simply didn’t put up with what she defined as class idiots, or in his case fools. She had no patience for them, and while it may have been harsh, they were usually the ones to suffer her terrible tempers. Avery didn’t mind making them unhappy as much, so it didn’t hurt to scream at them when they crossed her the wrong way or pushed her buttons. Then again, only fools pressured Avery Jacobs buttons.

The sixteen year old raised a brow as Peter actually spun up and managed to get the ball from her. She smirked, running after him without a puff of tiredness. “Vice-versa.” she said in response to his earlier exclamation of making a fool of himself. Avery was the one that looked like a fool now, but she wasn’t nearly as competitive as others and this was all fun and games for her. She chuckled as she ran past, cutting right in front of him and attempting to snatch the ball away as she did.

[Peter Holden]

Peter had always been on the lonelier side, but he'd quickly gotten used to it, making his closer company Kate, Thimble, and Lacey. It didn't really both him much, though he'd always looked forward to coming home from school each day. He didn't particularly dislike school, but it became quite monotonous, and he was never really challenged by his classes. Once home, Kate and he would quickly finish their homework and he'd spend time with her if she wasn't dancing, and ride on his own if she was. Now that he'd seemed to actually have made a friend, the thought of losing her seemed absolutely tragic, and he found himself not being able to bear the though of it. He'd never been bothered by not having close friends before, but now what he'd missed was becoming clear. Nevertheless, he held few regrets.

He winced his eyes a bit at her comment once he stole the ball, shaking his head without a word. She'd done nothing foolish in the least, and wasn't even performing badly, which became more clear as she stole the ball away once again, cutting in front of him. She was most certainly not a fool, which she continued to prove with each word she uttered, and with every move she made.

He was glad that she didn't seem particularly competitive about it, as this reduced the chance of their little game ending in bad feelings. He hadn't expected it, and had barely considered it, but was reassured nonetheless. He didn't want to see her any more upset or irritated than he already had. It was a bit unreasonable for him to hope, as he knew that all people had certain emotions that came out of hiding sooner or later, but the thought of it made his heart sink. He'd been charmed by her happiness, and almost feared making her upset, not only because of her consequences, but the emotional toll it would take on him. Such things usually had large consequences on his emotional health.

Once she had the ball again, he ran after her, waiting a bit to get close and try to kick the ball out of the range of her dribble so he could have a chance at getting it. Tactic was not his strong point (in football at least), as he'd only really played for fun after a certain age, and he was mostly just making it up as he went along, and taking tiny parts from the football he watched on television.

[Avery Jacobs]

Avery cocked her head slightly as the boy winced in regards to her comment about being foolish. It was true, Avery tried her best not be foolish, though in taking her anger out on people she loved, it was foolish. The girl knew it. It was one of the only things she knew she was at times, though around Peter, she felt a little like herself. Not the same innocent sweetheart she was years ago, more like fearless and strong, though equal with the boy. Even if he was quiet, Avery knew he had a certain quality to him she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

As he opened up more to her, a slowly as he did it caused the girl to yearn to see the inside. While this was quite uncharacteristically nosey of her, she felt as if she broke open both their masks, they would find the something they were looking for. At the thought of that, Avery shivered, hesitating her run for a moment. What would she do once she got to know Peter? Would her real self be revealed along with the process. As she got to know him better, Avery felt herself coming back down to the Earth. Perhaps that was why she already enjoyed spending time with him even in the short moments she’d known him.

Some people just connected for her and whether she refused to believe or not, Avery had been clicked. She had made a friend and she wasn’t letting go. It was a weird feeling for the girl, but it felt good. She grinned as she managed to steal the ball back, hoping he would be able to do the same. She wanted him to succeed, though this didn’t mean she would play easy on him. Avery hated it when people played easy on her and this was how she was going to teach Peter; the only way she knew how.

Avery dribbled swiftly and gracefully as his body launched forward. To her surprise, instead of trying to swipe it, he kicked it out of her collected dribble, and she wondered what his idea was. It came too late. Avery laughed, realizing how smart it had been. He had far longer legs than her and Avery knew she wouldn’t be able to catch up fast enough to reach the ball first. Nevertheless she tried. Her hair whipped in the breeze, already a few loose strands dancing against her heating face, and her soaked sweatpants forgotten.

[Peter Holden]

Though Peter liked what he'd seen of Avery so far, it was clear that both of them had some sort of mask on. He couldn't help but fear that if they ended up finally removing them at some point, or coming close to it, they wouldn't like what they saw. The thought was fleeting, but it was made his insides twitch. No, he was sure that he would still like her, and could only hope that she'd still approve of him. He certainly approved of her as of now, and in the past couple of days, he'd found himself looking for her wherever he went, wanting to see her more. She was not the sort of friend he'd expected to make, but was proving to be exactly the sort of person he needed.

The other worry on his mind about making this friend was his parents' consequences that they threatened him with. How many times had they repeated "Make sure to keep up your grades
and "Be sure to be the best"? How many times had they slipped the threat of taking him out of Blue Ridge into a conversation? Yes, it was always looming, and he needed to stay focused. He could do that, even with this girl. But what if they did take him out? What would happen if he had to leave her? He couldn't stand the thought of it, and it was becoming obvious to him that staying at Blue Ridge was getting more and more important.

It was clear that she would not go easy on him, for which he was glad. It seemed like both the worst humiliation, and a failure in learning. He was here to learn more. To improve himself. As he kicked the ball away from the both of them, he hard her laugh, grinning for a moment before flying forwards towards the ball. With his longer legs, he got there first and claimed the ball for himself, at least for now. His plan had actually worked, for which he was glad, but only because of how tall he was. Was that considered skill? Maybe not, but it worked. He dribbled it away, liking this game of back and forth they were playing.

[Avery Jacobs]

Avery had actually refused the idea of accepting BRRA. To her, it had seemed all part of a ploy made by her crazy grandparents to make up with her brother. She had screamed, thrown tantrums in her own way, but unlike other times, Avery had actually been quite unable to get out of this one. Still, she refused to admit to her grandparents that she was actually having a somewhat of a good time as Peter stepped into the picture, but she had never anticipated making a friend. Avery was quite stubborn in her ways and while it served her when she wanted something badly, it certainly had its bad sides.

She did, quite secretly, miss her grandparents and even more her father despite her anger towards him as well for losing the farm. Not to mention the fact he’d gone behind her back and agreed to her grandparents’ idea of sending her here. After how he’d brought the family status to the ground, Avery had decided he didn’t get to make the decisions anymore. Still, of course, sometimes he just thought he got to step back in and take care of her. This infuriated Avery beyond belief, but at the moment, with Peter she had simply forgotten her problems. He, in a way, was calming her temper down. Amazingly, Avery didn’t feel the anger and hurt she did when she was the boy compared to others.

Surprisingly, when her dark eyes rested on him, they held nothing but happiness and intrigue. Those were the only emotions she’d associated with him so far, and it was surprising her all the more. Still, the girl was most certainly not complaining by any means. She blamed this on the puzzle he’d made for her with his personality. For some reason, Avery felt as if she knew him a lot better than other even though she had no idea about his home situation, or family, or where he came from. She did know a little bit about his personality however and was quite determined on finding that out.

It was no surprise to Avery as the boy reached the ball first, which in her opinion was totally not fair. Despite this, for some crazy reason, the girl found this quite funny. She shook her head slowly, her firm nature coming loose a little bit in her moment of happiness and she stuck her tongue out at him as she chased him. Rounding to where he had been dribbling the ball, the brunette nearly danced as she stuck her foot out, attempting to snatch the ball with a tactic she’d learned long ago. One that gave the one who held the ball currently to surrender it or trip. She felt a little mean playing it on Peter, but he would benefit from it on her opinion.