ONCE BURNED was made by MEL. Copying, altering, or stealing any of the site's content is prohibited. All of ONCE BURNED's characters are the original work of their owners and may not be replicated or stolen. All images and graphics belong to their rightful owners and ONCE BURNED does not claim to own any of them.
Her deadpan expression was met with obvious scrutiny. And then joy. Carter looked like he'd uncovered something pointedly hilarious about her. She was sneaking him in. It was just like being in high school. It was just a shame it wasn't into her bed.
He nearly pointed that out, but stopped himself to let her continue.
"My dear, I am no stranger." Carter protested, and in his mind the single point eradicated her entire argument. Sure, she might have been sneaking him in, but she knew him by name. She'd known him for years.
"We're more like old friends, no?"
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Carter had already accepted the defeat that coincided with Luxanna's help tonight. He had settled back in the seat as he waited for her to turn around and drive the other way. When he didn't feel such movement, he thought to question her. He even opened one eye to peer at her in his peripheral vision.
She wasn't looking at him anymore. Maybe that was for the best. But she did offer him a solution. Honestly, a spare bed wasn't what he'd been aiming for. He sat up instantly, eyes wide open as he stared at her, realisation beaming.
"Are you asking me to hide? Like you're sneaking a boy home?" He asked her, eyebrows raising in painfully obvious curiosity.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
In Carter's mind, there wasn't all that much wrong with disappearing into the night on his own. It was his worst case scenario, after all. Finer details mightn't have existed, but she didn't need to know that.
"I'm older than you." He pointed out, reaching towards her and pressing his index finger to her arm lightly." Not that that excused his behaviour. He let his hand drop to the brochure she shifted through.
"Darling, it's after midnight. This is the end of the road." He explained to her as he watched the way she filtered through paperwork. "Put me back where you found me. It's fine." And he genuinely seemed to believe it, too.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Carter was acutely aware that they had stopped moving. He closed his eyes for a spare set of seconds as if he wanted to think, but his entire mind was blank. Cool water dwindled down his skin in the passing moments. Her words washed over him quickly before he glanced at her again. Bright blue eyes searched the look she gave for some kind of clarity.
"I certainly have no intention of finding a bed like that now." He declared, refusing to make this about his face.
As she moved, Carter reached to the side to drop the passenger's seat as flat as it would go. He exhaled a sigh of relief at the strange sense of comfort it gave him. "Drop me off anywhere, Luxanna. I'll make my own way." He offered, waving his hand idly in her direction.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
The brunette shook her head whilst letting a soundless chuckle out. "Some things never change, it seems." Pulling the car over to the side of the road, Lux turned so she could face him.
"Do you want me to drive you back to the bar?" she asked. He still had a few hours to work his magic before the bars closed. She wasn't about to take that opportunity away from him. She knew better than that.
"If not, then..." She trailed off as she leaned to the side, stretching her arm to the backseat. She had a brochure over all of Stagfort's finest tourist attractions here somewhere. There had to be a list of hotels in there somewhere.
Carter's grin went from something of a victory to a very real discrepancy. The information he received wasn't exactly what he was looking for. Who lived with a parent? At their age? Disappointment struck him on a clear wave for a multitude of reasons.
"Um, no. Why would I? I thought I had you." He retorted a little sharply. Truthfully, that was clearly a lie. He had no idea she even existed in this place until about an hour ago. "Honestly. It's new years. I didn't plan to sleep alone." That much should have been obvious to her by now. Some things struggled to change.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Carter couldn't help but look at her intently. Now that he wasn't playing any games, he got the chance to take in exactly what she looked like now. Her image had easily faded from his memory; four years would do that to most people.
He frowned when she mentioned she didn't live at the school. Like that mattered.
"Me neither." He admitted then, straightening up in his seat. He looked out at the street they were taking, well aware of how unfamiliar everything looked. That had nothing to do with the alcohol fueling his loosely connected thoughts.
"I don't have a home yet, by the way." He continued on, "Tonight's my first night here."
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
The dull roar of the engine indicated that it was probably Carter's turn to speak again. She looked at him expectantly, and he looked at her like he didn't know what she wanted. It was almost as if he forgot she was driving him home.
What? It as such a simple question. Carter dropped his jaw, intending on giving a great many answers. There was no one answer to that question. Not when it came to this woman.
"Head towards the school." He instructed her finally. "The new school."
And then he had a thought; one that highlighted in his eyes before his mouth could form the words; "You don't live there, do you?"
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Carter followed Luxanna with relative ease; simple steps through as the crowd seemed to practically part ways for her. Maybe it was the way the bouncers looked at her. Maybe it was him. After all, he was now a known trouble maker for the night. The whole thing added just another air of mystery. He watched the careful nod given by the bouncers, knowing it was more for her than for him. They were probably dying to get rid of him.
He followed to the point given, wandering just a beat or so behind her. It made it easier to look without getting seen. What car she drove was hardly the most prominent thing on her mind. But when it came time to part ways he dragged his fingertips across the back of the vehicle and up the side before hooking his hand around the handle and dragging the door open.
Carter fell into the seat provided, easing a seatbelt on a little awkwardly. He leaned back to rest the side of his face against the head of the seat, and he stared at her like she had all the answers. For once, he had nothing to say.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Carter offered a conceding look to the idea of being bold enough for the two combined. Really, she wasn't wrong. Somehow, drinking only made him worse. It released the kind of control he often sought to have over his own movements. Truthfully, a sober Carter might have run from the face he hadn't seen in four years. It wasn't as if he never thought about her in that time.
He listened with pursed, clearly unimpressed lips as she explained herself to a coworker. His face was still pressed - practically squished - against the makeshift ice pack she had been kind enough to give him. He looked at her hands as they moved, letting his bright eyes travel all the way back up to her face.
"You lead."
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Carter feigned a highly shocked expression. How dare she remotely insinuate that he deserved the strike he received? His jaw dropped and his eyes gawked at her widely for a few moments before he couldn't suppress the smirk he wore. At least she wasn't the way she used to be; watching him get hit in the face might have once sent her running completely.
If only she knew the reasoning. Well, he supposed he might give that to her a little later. She wasn't exactly complying with what he wanted. Carter hauled himself out of his chair slowly, slumping his shoulders immediately before stretching his free arm out.
"Oh come on," He started again, "You don't need to be shy around me."
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
Carter very much doubted he'd be staying for long, now. Usually he carried a little more tact in his approach to others, but in his instance a lot of clever thought had gone out the window. Such was the way when alcohol was involved.
Glancing at her again, Carter looked at what was offered to him. He eased his hand away slowly to take hold of what was offered to him. The instant cool he felt was relieving in a way. After all, what was more important than his face?
A heavy exhale passed his lips then. "Not a bad way to start the year." He said, shrugging his shoulders. It was as if the physical altercation never happened. Or it didn't matter. Most other people didn't.
"Someone aught to look after me, hmm?" He mused aloud, looking at her from the corner of his eye with a grin.
Chivalry in the form of gliding bouncers were hardly coming to Carter's aid, but at least they had every intention of separating them before any major damage could be done. Good thing too; his face was incredibly priceless.
He looked at her with a curled fist that immediately let go. She wasn't so hard to read, at least, not with simplicities like this.
"Bonne Année!" He called loudly, with the roar of the crowd. Arms hoisted themselves high to show he had no desire to engage a second time, despite the way he pursed his lips as if offering another kiss to the man still held by security.
He filtered back into his seat, hand pressed to his cheek. The very cheek she'd just bestowed such grace to was now slowly swelling under the weight of that drunken hit.
Carter Chevalier
Usually I hold the power with both my hands tied behind my back
She seemed to get the gist of what he was saying, and Carter could only be grateful for it. It was easy to catch out the odd looking fellow who clearly wanted her attention, and he wanted to laugh for it. But when the countdown started he was solely focused on her.
Lips pressed against his cheek, and he couldn't stop the surprise from hitting his face. It wasn't what he expected, but he didn't seem mad at it. He reeled back and looked her dead in the eye again, his voice softer.
"Well played, Luxanna." He declared, and in a flash of a grin he left his seat again. Three people down and he was pressing his hands to either side of the ill-fitting flannel shirt wearing man's face. He placed a generous kiss against his lips.
Even Carter Chevalier couldn't dodge the fist that flew at his face moments later.
Now she certainly did have some kind of upper hand. Carter strolled into the conversation with the mentality of a complete stranger. He should have known such a trick wouldn't work very well here, after all, most people probably moved with the school. Somehow this had gone from a place people wanted to flee to a place people called a haven.
At least she looked like she was having fun with him. That was nice.
"I'd rather not leave you to the wolves, my dear, after all-" He made a literal point of glancing at his watch, but it took a little longer than it should have. That bought him perfect seconds. His eyes also struggled to adjust to the face; "You have precious little time left to decide."
With a harsh shrug of his shoulders, Carter leaned inward towards the bar with both arms against it. "And I'm positive the man in the ill-fitting flannel three people down is already bragging about his exploits with you." He continued on, tilting his head to the side not-so-subtly. Sure enough, the eyes of a complete stranger were on her.
