Vangelis & Sierra

[vangelis]

{ www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=68432716 }

Vangelis sat on the grass, leaning back against the truck of a tree. In his hand he held a book of Italian poetry. Just a little light reading. It was getting late, and the sun was beginning to set, but he had no intention of going back to his dorm yet. Being outside was much, much better. Besides, it wasn't cold, and he wasn't technically allowed to smoke inside, so that was another reason to be out on the quad.

There was a cigarette gripped between his lips, currently unlit, but he liked to be prepared for when the urge hit him. As he read through the poetry he traced his index finger along the words, reading them aloud as he did so.

'Era il giorno ch'al sol si scoloraro, per la pietà del suo factore i rai,quando ì fui preso, et non me ne guardai, chè i bè vostr'occhi, donna, mi legaro', he muttered from the free side of his mouth. It was one he'd read before, but then again, he'd read the full book many times before.

It was the day the sun's ray had turned pale
with pity for the suffering of his Maker
when I was caught, and I put up no fight,
my lady, for your lovely eyes had bound me.

[Sierra Briden]

www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=68434430

Sierra had had the worst day of her life. Not only had she been brooding over Zelda's frequent harsh words, people were starting to shame her. She had too much of a big mouth on that stupid chat board, and now people hated her, called her a slut, and a whore. She felt ashamed and embarrassed that so many people thought she was some sort of sex-addict who sold herself out - she was far from it. Tired of being judged, she spent the day fuming, which got her into trouble in class for zoning out. But she didn't want to go back to her dorm at the end of the day, because she'd be tempted to get onto the chat boards. So instead, she went to the Quad.

Walking across the grass, she wiped at her eyes, which were red and bloodshot. She kept telling herself not to cry, not to cry, as she sat down. She took a seat on a bench near a group of trees, without paying any attention to who was in the vicinity, and let her tears fall slowly. She felt one crystal droplet dribble over the corner of her eye and snake down past her nose to the edge of her chin, where it plopped onto her skirt. Sniffling, she looked up when she realized she wasn't alone, and quickly tried to hide her tears.

"Latin poetry," she offered as a weak hello. "It sounds pretty when you read it." She pulled out her compact mirror and pretended to be fixing her eye makeup, when she was trying to get a reading on how sad she looked. Red eyes, tear streaks - fixable with a few cosmetics, which she didn't have with her. Hopefully poetry boy just wouldn't notice.

[vangelis]

Vangelis didn't even notice the presence of someone else until she was speaking to him. A little taken aback he snapped his book shut and looked up. It sort of looked like the girl had been crying, but he wasn't sure, so he didn't say anything instead he stood up and walked over.

'Italian actually', he replied, flashing her the cover of the book Rime in vita e morta di Madonna Laura. Not that it would confirm anything for her, if she didn't speak Italian. With a smile on his face he sat down next to her on the bench. Vangelis wasn't one to pass up on a conversation when he was offered one.

'Are you okay?', he asked, trying to keep it innocent, he didn't want to imply that she didn't look okay. Even though she definitely didn't look like the happiest girl in the world.

[Sierra Briden]

"Sorry, I'm not good at languages," Sierra muttered, glancing down. When he came closer, she looked up and offered a pathetic wisp of a smile. "Am I okay?" she shook her head, laughing bitterly. "No, I'm the worst person in the world, and everyone hates me. My social status is gone, and I don't even have anyone but a handsome stranger who reads Italian poetry to talk to!" she burst into a new set of tears, hiding her face behind her hands.

She cried for a minute, shoulders shaking with sobs. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry," she sniffled. "I didn't mean to cry in front of you, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

[vangelis]

Vangelis scooted away a little when she burst in to tears. Usually he'd be good at coping with things like this, but maybe today he was a little off his game, because as she cried he couldn't think of a single thing to say, so he just sat there silently.

When she'd finished Vangelis felt a little less awkward, he reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder.
'It's okay, if you need to cry, cry', he said quietly, then bit his lip, trying to think of what else to say, 'You don't seem like the worst person in the world either', he added, giving her a sympathetic shoulder squeeze, if there is such a thing.

[Sierra Briden]

Sierra didn't know what to say. His hand on her shoulder was nice, even though he had no clue who she was, and vice versa. She twisted to face him more, and wiped her eyes quickly. "Um, thanks, you don't seem so bad, either," she offered a weak smile. "But that's not true about me. I'm terrible. I vandalized a girl's dorm door, and I got in a fight with her, and I've said so many mean things I didn't mean... and, and everyone thinks I'm some whore even though I'm not, or... I don't think I am." She sighed."And I don't mean to complain to you but you seem so nice and friendly."

[vangelis]

'Well, I guess you must've had a good reason', Vangelis said, taking his hand from the girls shoulder and leaning back against the bench, 'And also, if you don't think you're a whore, then you should probably stop caring about what other people say', he finished.

It sounded like good advice to him, even though he knew that things weren't always as simple as he perceived them. It was nice to hear that he seemed nice and friendly. If only everyone thought about him that way. From his own experience he knew how horrible it could be when people saw you for what you weren't. It sucked.

[Sierra Briden]

Sierra wiped her tears and slowly allowed herself to smile at this boy. He was sweet, and nice - and, to tell the truth, pretty hot. Just her luck, right? Everyone would think she just liked him for sex, if they were seen together. But no, the thought wasn't in her head. Sierra liked people for who they were - she just occasionally like to have fun. Was that so bad? "You know what?" She said suddenly, voice full of power. "I'm not a whore. And that's the truth!" a grin broke out upon her face. "Thanks, um.... did I catch your name?"

[vangelis]

Vangelis found himself grinning back at the girl, she was pretty cute when she wasn't crying.
'I'm Vangelis', he replied, not sure whether to hold out a hand for her to shake, he decided not to. No one does that anymore do they?

'What's your name?', he asked, cocking his head to one side, he found that he couldn't take his eyes off this girl. Vangelis wanted to know all about this girl.
'

[Sierra Briden]

"Nice to meet you, Vangelis, I like your name." "And your face is pretty cute, too," she refrained from saying. Smiling tentatively, she wiped at her eyes again and grabbed her compact out of her backpack. As she proceeded to fix her make up, she occasionally glanced over her mirror to look at her new acquaintance. "I'm Sierra," she said, lightly brushing pressed powder over her cheeks and under her eyes to get rid of any traces of tears. "Thank god for waterproof mascara," she muttered, laughing a little at her own sort of lame joke. "I'm a freshman, just started school here and already I have a reputation," she shook her head sadly, thinking of her old school. Of course she would end up being the whore here, too, just her luck. "What about you?"