Polokinz and ze Batcat :D Mature Content

Rhys nodded thoughtfully. "And to dye my hair and get color contacts." He chuckled and grabbed her wrist. "C'mon, let's get outta here." He gently tugged on her arm and nodded towards the entrance. "I'll carry you out if I have to." A mischevous grin spread across his face and he readied his free hand as if to pick her up.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming!" Avery laughed, playfully darting away when Rhys made as though to pick her up.
She flashed a grin at Rhys, then kept running - glad just to be able to move, despite the pain from her injuries.
Maybe Rhys was right... Maybe she had a chance at a new life, after all. There was still breath in her lungs... She wasn't broken yet.

Rhys grinned. "Right, then." He chuckled and dashed after her, quickly overtaking her. "Slow-poke!" He called back over his shoulder, flashing her a smile. He stopped to wait for her, panting and grinning at her.

Avery stuck her tongue out, and quickened her pace slightly - falling into step beside Rhys. Soon enough he came to a stop, which allowed Avery to quickly close the gap between them and stop beside him. She doubled over, gasping for air, then straightened once she'd caught her breath. "I really need to get fitter." She said with a breathless laugh. "There was a time I could run much further than that without puffing at all." He chuckled, then glanced at Rhys with a smile - waiting to see where he planned to go. She was quite content to follow him around. It allowed her to ignore her problems, which was just what she needed, in her opinion.

Rhys grinned. "Same here, kiddo." He laughed and strode purposefully out of the entrance and into the bright light. He glanced around at the street. There were a few people out, all of them adults as school was in session. He thought he caught a glimpse of a dark haired girl, but it turned out to be a garbage can with a carpet on it. "Fitting." He snorted, associating the dark tone of the carpet to Rebecca's sleek black hair. He sighed and turned back to examining the street.
There were a few light posts, a couple of run-down buildings, and an old bus station. He turned to Avery with a devious grin. "Should we ditch Carter and take a bus for an adventure? Or even somewhere else? He wagged his eyebrows with a villainous smile and awaited her response, trying to figure out the odds of saying yes.
She could say no and turn him in.
She could say no and go back to Detroit with Carter and leave him here, all alone.
She could say no and tell him to go back to Detroit without her.
She could say no and tell him to take her with him to Detroit.
She could say no and kill herself.
She could say yes and kill herself before they left.
Or she could say yes and they could go somewhere else. Maybe a different state, or even Canada. Maybe even out of North America. He'd always wanted to try South African chips. A small smile touched his face, but he was still thinking about what she would say. As quickly as the small sign of happiness became visible on his features, it disappeared and his face returned to his 'thinking look' - his eyebrows scrunching together, his eyes narrowed, and tongue sticking out slightly.
He knew his confident mien had only been a mask of the true uneasiness within him. Most people thought boys couldn't if girls rejected them. This may have been true for other boys, but not Rhys. When she'd rejected him earlier it hurt. That was what made him so nervous.
So he shuffled his feet and waited stressfully for her answer.

[Sorry I haven't replied. I didn't want it to be corny or suckish Actually that's an excuse. I'm at study hall right now and super bored. So I won't be able to respond. I love this post though ^^ I didn't want to give you a crappy, three sentence post for Avery to react to lmao.]

((Oh my! You’re alive?! And here I thought you’d died! Haha! I’m a little disappointed. Here I though I’d finally be able to steal your supersquirrel. :3

Good to have you back, though!! Magnificent post. ))

"Should we ditch Carter and take a bus for an adventure? Or even somewhere else?”
Rhys’s question echoed through her mind, and Avery stared blankly at him – her expression somewhat doubtful. Why take the bus? Why go somewhere else? She couldn’t help but wonder what he had planned…
Could she really trust Rhys? What if he planned to kidnap her or something…
Don’t be pathetic, you paranoid coward! Avery scolded herself viciously, If you can’t trust Rhys, then who the hell can you trust?! And if you can’t trust anybody, what’s the point of life?
She considered this a while, and realised that it was true. Rhys was, currently, her one and only precious person. If she couldn’t trust him… She might as well be dead – and she had already decided she didn’t want that, after all.
She let her uncertain gaze flicker up to Rhys’s face – honestly considering his suggestion this time. As he smiled and waggled his eyebrows goofily, Avery felt a smile lift her lips, and her worries melted away.
For the first time in a long time, her expression showed something different. Something rare…
Trust.
She had forgotten how it felt, until now. True, honest trust… She had missed it.
“Sure.” Avery replied quietly, managing a timid smile. “Anywhere’s got to be better than here…” He voice gradually gained strength now, and her lips formed a more definite curve. “I’m always up for an adventure!” Her face split into a playful grin, and she stepped toward Rhys slightly – demonstrating that, wherever he went, she intended to follow.

Rhys's face broke intoa large smile as she said the words. The only thought that came to him was yes! She is beginning to trust me again! He couldn't help it when she stepped toward him. He closed the few feet between them with one large, graceful stride and swept her off her feet into a large bear hug. He buried his head on her shoulder and memorized everything about her that he could.
Her short, cropped hair was sleek beneath his fingers.
Her warm body was soft against his.
Her heart was beating erratically under her skin.
Her face was hot from an obvious blush.
He set her down with a happy bark of a laugh and apologized, still grinning his goofy grin. "Sorry about that, Miss. PErsonal Space. I'm just so happy you'll go with me." He smiled even wider, his mouth hurting so much.
How could he express his gratitude in any other way without overstepping the 'just friend' boundary? Had they been even close to 'dating', he'd have kissed her right then and there. But he didn't want to just yet. Only when he felt she was ready for it and least expecting it.
He closed his eyes and a peaceful expression came over his face. A small smile touched his lips and he inhaled deeply, silently thanking any god there might be.

[[Baha. My severe case of writer's block is gone and my mind is overfilling with muse (:< BEWARE AND NO YOU CAN'T HAVE MEH SUPER-SKUWEHRELL!]]

((Wooop! I'm over the Moon!! *Jumps over Moony horse*
Such a cute post! And I'm so glad to have Rhys back. Oh, how I missed that guy. Haha!
You too, of course. XD
*Hides supersquirrel behind back* ^_^ ))

Avery was utterly shocked when Rhys suddenly came at her, and hugged her so enthusiastically that she was actually lifted off her feet. A gasp of surprise escaped her lips, and Avery felt panic dart through her for a moment.
I'm completely and utterly helpless. She realised, attempting to treat the thought with grim acceptance. My life is in Rhys's hands right now - quite literally. But I trust him, so this should be okay... Right?
She quelled her doubtful thoughts, and let herself relax slightly - a faint giggle (which was a sound Avery seldom made, since it was rather too girlish for her) escaped her lips, and she rested her head against Rhys, feeling a faint blush creep to her cheeks.
Funny... She couldn't remember doing that in a while, either.
Her racing heart gradually slowed as he put her down, and her wide blue eyes blinked up at him a moment - the ghost of a smile barely visible on her face. When Rhys apologised, however, still looking like a goof and not sounding as if he meant it in the slightest (though she was glad of this, because in all honesty, she had enjoyed that hug) she couldn't help but smile in earnest, and even laugh a little. "It's okay." She replied, her smile still lingering. "You're an exception after all, Rhys." Letting her own face split into a goofy grin, she patted his cheek - perhaps with slightly unnecessary force - and tilted her head slightly to one side. "So..." She asked mischieviously, "When do we leave?"

Rhys smiled in relief that she hadn't been weirded out by the hug. He chuckled and swatted her hand away from his cheek playfully, though it felt like electricity had sparked him wherever they made contact. He grinned and pushed his blonde hair backwards over his head, where it flopped shapelessly back to where it had been before. Normally this would have caused a sigh of irritation, but he just laughed and said, "Anytime soon so I can fix this disaster." He ruffled Avery's hair. "I mean really, c'mon. We're so dying your hair another color. The black makes you look like a vampire, as I've said before."
The hair dying wasn't a choice of preferance; he'd been on the run long enough to know that a new place meant new looks. New looks included hair dying, cutting, and color contacts. The blue wasn't even his natural color, and neither was the blonde. He didn't want to make himself obvious to anyone that might have wanted to track him down that it was him; it already proved to be too easy when Carter came by. He sighed and glanced at Avery.
He stood awkwardly beside her, unsure as of what to do. He wnated to reach out and touch her - like he did by ruffling her hair - but he didn't know how without sending out all the wrong messages and making the siuation even more awkward. In the end, though, he decided to touch her elbow to guide her. The gesture was simple and shouldn't do anything... right?
He smiled cheerfully and touched her elbow. "Bus station." He said simply, nodding his head to the north.

[*hiss* I'll just have to hold your Laiko hostage and torture him til I get my Squirelly back. I will tickle him to death! Mwahahaha!]

((*Gasp* Nooo, not my Laiko! XD ))

"Hm. New start, new looks, huh?" Avery asked, glancing up at Rhys. As always, she was sharp and quick on the uptake. Besides - she had done something like this before. Hell, she'd changed her identity to the point that she almost changed her gender. For all points and purposes involved, anyway.
Avery was so lost in thought that she jumped in surprise when she felt the touch on her elbow, but seeing that it was only Rhys, she calmed herself, and nodded mutely - starting to walk in the direction he had indicated.
A new start, huh...? She reflected thoughtfully, the cheerfulness gradually seeping from her expression as her mind drifted back through the past few years spent living alone with her father.
Can anybody really escape from Hell? She wondered grimly, The fingers of her left hand slowly finding the wrist of her right, and feeling for a pulse.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
She had nearly escaped, before Rhys had come to stop her. She was glad, she supposed. But at the same time, she wasn't sure if she could cope with any more suffering. There were times - like right now - when she felt simply empty inside, as though her soul had long since died and rotted away. It was like that all the time before... But somehow with Rhys, it was different. With Rhys - she had hope... And everything hurt all the more because of it.

[Bahahaha I'm at school so this'll be my only post for right now ]

Rhys's smile faded as Avery's demeanor changed. Being the teenage, unable to read signals, guy he was, he started to mistake her serious, grim personality for something he had done. He wondered absentmindedly what he had done wrong. Had it been the hug? No, she had been okay with it. It had to have been the whole elbow thing. He mentally kicked himself. Why had that not worked? It was a simple, non-aggresive move. Right? He sighed. He had to stop doing this to himself. Why make himelf worry when he could just ask her.
A wry grin crept onto his face at his own foolishness. He huffed a short sigh, a puff of warm air escaping from his lips. "Everything alright?" He asked gently, hoping she would tell him, but he was not pushing it. He kept his eyes on hers and focused on her and nothing else.Just the way she looked, the way she walked, the way her left hand held her right wrist, the way she delicately breathed in and out of her nose...
He was focusing on her so intently he ran into a light pole.
He cried out in indignation and rubbed his forehead profusely. "Ow." He muttered, glaring intensely at the post.

[Come save Laiko, than (:<]

((Noo. XD *Dies* Haha! Well, I'll be waiting... *Evil grin* ))

"Hm...?" Avery glanced up distractedly at Rhys's question - meeting his gaze for a moment, then glancing away slightly. "Rhys, there's a-" She began to warn him, but was cut off by a resounding 'clang' as Rhys walked head-first into the light pole. At first she was horrified, but at the expression on his face, she found herself pressing her hand over her mouth to stifle the giggles that threatened to escape her lips. "Silly Rhys." She managed finally, an amused grin still on her face. She stepped forward and took his chin in her hand, rotating his head slightly to study it. "You'll survive." She concluded finally, still smirking slightly from amusement.
"Are you okay?" She added slightly more seriously, releasing his chin and letting her hand drop back to her side, so she simply regarded him with a concerned blue gaze.
Somehow, Rhys could always distract her from her problems...
I wonder... She thought mildly to herself, If I might learn to love him after all... If I gave myself a chance.

Rhys's face burned bright red, and the shade darkened even more when Avery took his chin into her hands. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "I think I might collapse to the ground dead from the pain." He said dramatically, throwing his arm over his forehead. Like all other teenage boys, he was oblivious to the inner decisions she was starting to make.
He wailed sarcastically and stage fainted, crumpling his legs under him to soften the blow. He flopped dramatically to the side and his tongue lolled out of his mouth limply. He didn''t laugh even though it was mock fainting; he was too good at this to laugh. Even without the obvious hint it was a joke, it was clear he didn't really faint. Usually he could make anyone believe he was dead. The gang wars in Detroit had forced him to learn the skill. In fact, he was so convincing that was one of his nicknames - Dead Man.

"Hey, that's scary - don't do that!" Avery scolded as Rhys collapsed. He really looked as though he had fainted! If he hadn't been playing the fool before, she'd have believed that.
"Get up, you idiot!" She chided, a faint smirk lifting her lips as she prodded him savagely in the ribs with her toe.
What am I thinking...? Avery scolded herself, continuing her earlier train of thought. He's my friend, and it's best that way. Men just can't be trusted...
She didn't entirely believe herself, but she pretended to - just to end the war with her conscience.
Thankfully, one of her skills was hiding her thoughts perfectly successfully when she focused on it. With a spot of luck, Rhys would not even have noticed her distraction.

((Sorry, my brain exploded and the quality sucked... XD ))

[Hehe eploding Polo brain.... I should explode Laiko's brain ]

Rhys jerked upright and stuck his tongue out at her when she started kicking him and he snickered at her. "C'mon, my grandma can kick harder than that." He teased her. "I need to teach you how to fight properly, little one." He chuckled and jumped to his feet using those cool moves ninjas and other awesome figures use. He smiled brightly at her, not knowing about her hesitance from just seconds before.
"When you have someone on the ground and you're kicking them, do not go for the ribs. They're too hard, but iif you break one, it could puncture the lung and actually kill them." He said the last two words slowly and with obvious precision. "And you do not want to kill anyone. Ever. So you kick them in the gut, and if they're a guy that isn't me or Carter, kick them in their weakness." He grinned. "Actually, I don't care about Carter, just not me. I may want kids one day." He chuckled and thought about what next to show her.

((O.o!! You're evil! D: ))

At Rhys's words, Avery's eyes narrowed slightly, and she fixed a polite smile on her lips - watching him with the sort of expression a cat might wear after having been thrown in a bath.
The kind that openly suggests, 'I'll act nice now, but you'd best sleep with one eye open, because I'm coming for you.'
If she'd had a tail, it would have been thrashing.
Had she been feeling less indignant, she'd have been honestly impressed by Rhys's 'moves' - but as it were, she was annoyed at being underestimated. Seeing as how she hated showing being vulnerable, and positively loathed showing weakness, this was one of her pet hates.
"I'm not that bad a fighter, Rhys." Avery informed him sweetly, his name leaving her tongue with a certain stinging sharpness. She smiled at him, tilting her head slightly to one side - then decided to release her irritation, and allowed her expression to soften until the smile became earnest.
"Believe it or not, I wasn't trying to hurt you, my friend." She laughed - shaking her head. "I can look after myself. You tend to pick up a thing or two being a police chief's daughter, especially if you're plotting ways to overthrow him in your free time."
She fell silent then, feeling the hair on the back of her neck bristling in a potent combination of hate, fear and disgust.
Bad idea bringing 'him' into this... Now she couldn't stop thinking. And some things were best left unthought of... Some memories best not relived.
But she was determined, not to have Rhys notice her distress - since the last thing she wanted was pity. So she hid it - as best she could, anyway.

[Most definately (:<]

"I'm not critisizing you, just the angle of your kicking was off and..." Rhys cocked his head to the side. "Overthrowing your father? You make him sound like a king."
He chuckled as he said it, but he knew his sarcastic answer was true; her father was king. A king of Avery, and there was nothing she could do about it except for run away. He'd realized in the alley that the photographs were a bad idea, and Avery didn't approve of them in the least bit. He had a suspicion that was why she'd been in the alley in the first place.
"Like I said, Carter had the idea. I'm not sure if he went through with the plan or not."
That wasn't a lie at least, even though he wasn't telling her the whole truth. Carter did come up with the idea, and Rhys wasn't sure if he'd done it on his own or not. He wanted to congratulate himself for thinking so cleverly, but Avery wasn't like those dumb ghetto gangsters he had to convince of a lie, and she was smart at this kind of stuff. He realized his gaze had slowly been drifting to the ground and he quickly snapped his eyes up in a fleeting glance before dropping them again.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Avery replied, simply - the denial tasting sweeter than honey on her tongue.
She decided to shrug off her thoughts then, and smiled brightly at Rhys, seeming suddenly carefree.
"C'mon, enough talk - let's get going!" She said with a laugh, shoving him playfully, then jogging ahead a few steps, before pausing to wait for Rhys - since he knew where they were going, and she didn't.
She hoped he would take the hint.
She didn't want to talk about the past any more... She didn't want to think about it, either. The only thing keeping her going was the fleeting hope that, just maybe, the future might be miraculously better.

Rhys grinned. "Whatever, you're right. Let's get out of here." He chuckled as she pushed him and mockingly fell to the side. He brushed past her gently, rubbing his arm sarcastically. "I-" He sniffed "thought you were my friend. But do friends push each other out of the way?" He pretended to wipe away a tear. He folded his arms and turned his lips into a pout.
After about a half minute of that face, he couldn't keep his expression straight and broke out into laughter. "You're such a bully, Ry." He purposely avoided calling her Ave because of the last time he called her that. And her dad called her that. He walked forward slowly, facing her with a bright smile on his face, inviting her to go with him.

((SCATTY-BATTY-CATTY!!! *Glomps* Oh, how I've missed you! ^_^ ))

"Oh, man up, you big baby!" Avery laughed, grinning in amusement at the use of her new nickname. She'd never heard that one before... And somehow, the fact that Rhys had come up with it touched her deeply.
He knew her... Perhaps better than she'd thought. And more importantly, he cared. He really cared...
In that moment, Avery felt something change inside her. It was an indescribable feeling... As though all her life she had been one way, and now she was completely another. Suddenly, thoughts that had scared her before were welcome in her mind. And it was a terrifying feeling, but so terribly exciting at the same time that it took her breath away.
What is this...?
Truthfully, she already knew the answer to that.
Avery hurried after Rhys. Falling into step beside him, she looked slowly up - meeting his gaze with a mixed expression. Curiosity, hesitance, nervousness and hope shone from her eyes - accompanied and disguised by so many more nameless, faceless emotions that she could barely feel any at all. "Rhys...?" She asked hesitantly, her pale blue eyes holding his - just delicately, as though the connection could be broken with so much as a blink.
"Do you remember before..." She trailed off here, thinking bitterly to herself, before you tried to rape me... But she found that she could no longer conjure anger over this fact. It was too late - Rhys was forgiven.
"Before-" She went on, undeterred, "When you said that you loved me." The intensity of her gaze suddenly increased, and it was obvious from her expression that she expected the truth - every last word of it. "Did you really mean it?"

Rhys laughed but decided not to give all the reasons why he wasn't a big baby. When she quieted down, taking on a more serious air, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye quickly. She looked confused, but also happy at the same time. He raised in eyebrow at her, but let it slide. When she started to talk, he listened carefully.
Do you remember before...?
Before? As in when he assaulted her? Or when they fiund him in the woods? Or even before that? It had to have been something big, she wouldn't be stuttering if it wasn't.
Before-
Before, so maybe when they first met?
When you said you loved me...
Oh. That. He tried to remember the entire scene. Inside the kitchen, next to the sink and the door... He closed his eyes, remembering the way her hair fell around her shoulders, but something was missing. He couldn't put his finger on it.
Did you really mean it?
"Of course I did, Ry."
The words slipped out before he could think about it. He did love her, didn't he? Yes, he was sure of that. He would die for her, but he didn't know exactly how he loved her. The 'I want to be with you forever and ever and have 3 kids' way or the 'family' way?

"I really did."

Avery's heart skipped a beat at Rhys's words. At first, she told herself it wasn't true... That believing him was too risky... But then Rhys added one final say, "I really did." and she found herself reassured. Yet still, her heart only continued to beat faster and faster, and suddenly she found anxiety kicking in. Maybe this was a bad idea... No, she'd brought up the topic now, so it was too late to bail.
Go for it! She told herself, gathering her determination.
Finally - she responded, though not with words. She merely nodded in response to Rhys's answer, then held her silence a moment longer before speaking.
"And do you remember what I said...? About not being able to love?" She trailed off into silence again, then took a deep breath, gathered all her courage, and threw caution to the winds.
"Well, let's just say... Hypothetically, I mean - let's say I'd... Changed my mind?" Her voice shrunk despite herself, and she glanced timidly toward the ground, feeling a blush heat her face rapidly.
She hadn't exactly asked a question... And though half of her hoped Rhys wouldn't answer at all, she secretly longed to hear his response. She was frightened and excited all at once... It was her favourite sort of feeling.
Like skydiving. She thought to herself, and her stiff expression gradually softened toward a smile.

[I have missed you too ]

Rhys closed the distance between them with two short strides. Quickly, his hand gently touched her chin and raised her eyes to his. "You don't need to be scared of me, Ry." The tone she'd used concerned him; she sounded afraid or something. "I never want to hurt you." Gently, the back of his other hand brushed against her jawbone. He glanced down at her lips briefly, and small smile playing on his own.

(( ))

"I'm not." Avery said honestly, raising her head slightly as she felt Rhys's touch on her chin. "That's what scares me." She murmured softly, her eyes finding Rhys's, and holding them.
Her words had lost any direct meaning now, and she knew she wasn't making sense - but perhaps it would be for the better if Rhys never knew of the conclusion she had come to moments before.
She wanted to tell him, but obviously, something was holding her back...
She wasn't scared of him - not at all - and that was what scared her more than anything.
She trusted him... Completely.
Her soft blue eyes darted searchingly over his face - desperately trying to read his expression, and find in it any hints that he knew what she was trying to say to him.
That something inside her had changed... That she saw the world in different colours.
That she saw him as something completely different to what he'd been before... Something more than just her friend...
"Rhys..." She wasn't sure why she said his name, except perhaps to hear how it sounded within her new mindset. It sounded just the same... But the emotion she spoke it with tasted foreign on her tongue.
What is this...?

Rhys smiled softly. "I understand. You're not used to trusting in anyone but yourself." He rubbed her cheek gently, and when she said his name, it sounded sweeter than anything he'd ever heard before. He slid his hand down Avery's arm and slipped into into her hand. He gripped it gently and held it against his heart. "Feel the beat?" He said, indicating, the fluttering and irregular jumps. "Every time we come in contact that happens."
His lips twisted into a wry smile and he touched his forehead to hers.
"Can I kiss you?"