Derek Mathaw

[Derek Mathaw]

It was late, well into the night when they stopped. It wasn't that they were going at it for hours, just the kissing afterwards was too wonderful to pause for a rest. There were hardly any words exchanged during the whole process, just a few 'I love you's between kisses. It was quiet in his door room as they laid next to each other, her fingers intertwined with his. Lazily, he turned on his side, hiding his face in her neck, behind her hair. His other hand traced circular patterns against her hip, and he kissed once more at her neck. After a few moments, his lips smiled against her skin and his movement paused.

"Don't mind me," he grunted as he got up, untangling himself from the sheets. He let go of her hand, got to his feet, and pulled on his boxers. Searching around in the pockets of his jeans, he pulled out a box of cigarettes. He looked at Shana apologetically, a half smile upon his face as he opened the window of his room and lit up. "I've been trying to quit." He muttered, looking out across the parking lot. Technically, this was all legal, so he didn't think it would be a problem. But he knew that Shana would have an opinion about it... He was trying to quit. "It's kind of something you do, back where I used to live. Once you can smoke legally, you can. But I mean, it's a bad habit."

OOC; I figured it was time to include it. If you look at his collage, he's a smoker.

[goodgollyalex]

Definitely better than the first time. Shana rose up slightly, covering her upper body with the sheets, looking to Derek after he had gotten up from the sheets. She watched him then laid back, sighing happily and looking for her undergarments so she could put them back on.

When Derek told her not to mind him, she pursed her lips tightly. Her eyebrows knitted slightly when she saw him light up the cigarette. Of course it bothered her that he smoked. He was basically shredding a few years away from his life. She had lost her grandfather to lung cancer, this wasn't a joke to her. "Right." Shana forced a smile while putting her bra back on after sliding on her boyshorts.

She walked to the bag of food and took her meal. Unlike Derek, she usually would rather eat after a long energy drain than smoke. It really bothered her but she was easily bothered about many things. "You're cutting down years from your life..." she muttered while taking a spoonful of steamed vegetables and mashed potatoes and putting it to her mouth.

[Derek Mathaw]

Derek watched a trail of smoke twisting and rising to the air, drifting out through the window. It was like a thin, grey ribbon of poison, he knew. Somehow, it looked pretty, all the same. He thought of a song, and sang it in his head, not wanting to sing it in front of Shana. She's the smoke, she's dancing fancy pirouettes, swan diving off of the deep end of my tragic cigarette... Shana did make it sound like a tragedy to smoke, and he knew himself that it was. He knew it bothered her, but he went sure why exactly. Plenty of people smoked, even kids younger than him did worse than smoke just tobacco, so.... He wondered what her history with it was, and realized yet again that she was still half a mystery to him.

Putting out his cigarette, he crushed the end on the window sill and dropped it, hitting one of the dumpsters that sat outside of his dorm. He heard the small "thump" it made as it bounced off of the rusting green metal lid, and lost sight of where it landed after that. He exhaled his last lungful of smoke, watched it dance away with the wind, then closed the window. He resisted every urge he ha to cough, knowing he would get a disapproving look from Shana, which he didn't want. Sometimes, it seemed as though she detested the things he did.

Turning away from the window, he sidled up next to her and appreciated the fact that there wa no trace of smoke in the air. Or, none that he could detect. He reached around her for a plastic spork and spooned up some macaroni and cheese, relishing in the Luke-warm cheesy goodness. "I know," he said softly, taking a few furtive glances towards his girlfriend to measure her reactions. "I told you, I'm trying to quit. It's not good for my lungs, or my nose-" he stopped short, realizing what he said, and tried to skip over it. He didn't like to mention his nose job if he didn't have to, and didn't want to explain yet to Shana that he had had plastic surgery to fix an injury. It was embarrassing, mortifying even! "I mean, uh, I just know its bad. We're not supposed to smoke here, either, so I really need to stop."

[goodgollyalex]

While Shana continued to watch Derek smoke, she rose an eyebrow. It definitely looked classy but today's society was more aware of the negative effects that smoking brought to the human body. She continued eating and listened to Derek talk. She cared about him and it was why she scowled him. For his own good.

She sighed quietly in relief that he had stopped and came over to eat. "Is it that difficult?" Shana had never been addicted to anything (except having a short temper. Was that an addiction?) She reached a hand to gently run it through his hair, she didn't want him to think she was angry at him. Shana was just concerned, that's all.

"Well yeah.... Wait a minute? I didn't know that smoking affected your nose..." she trailed off in thought before looking to him, "Where did you get that from?" Shana laughed before moving her hand away and taking her spork once again. "Just know that I'm here to help you get through this." she assured with a soft smile. "I'll use a hair sprayer and whenever you grab a cigar, I'll spray you with it!" Shana said brightly but she was just kidding.

[Derek Mathaw]

Derek nodded solemnly when she asked if it was hard to quit. "Oh yeah, it really is." He tried to think of an analogy that would help her understand. Thinking quickly, he wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her close. "It would be like if you couldn't see me anymore, or if I couldn't see you. It'd be unbearable, because one of the things that you need in your life is gone." He kissed her forehead. "Not that I need it in my life, the smoking that is. It's just that my body needs it - all the nicotine in my system refuses to go away, and when there isn't enough, it gives me withdrawal symptoms. Shakey hands, cravings, that stuff."

He spooned up another serving of macaroni and let go of her waist as he began eating again. Eating after smoking made him less hungry, typically, but he hadn't eaten all day and he was low on fuel, so he forced his mouth to open again and again. "Um, my nose, yeah. Breathing in the smoke is bad for my nasal passages." He blushed and looked at his fork, refraining from mentioning why.

[goodgollyalex]

A frown appeared on Shana's face when Derek explained to her what happened when he wasn't smoking. She did have an idea of what it was like to panic. Hell, out of all of her friends she tended to be the more nervous one. Shana wished she could be more cool-headed like Tammy or Aubrey but she ended up following Leo's footsteps. She continued eating but suddenly she was a little more thirsty. "Well, I'm not going anywhere." Shana said as she turned to him with a closed smile while opening her bottle of coke.

After taking a drink from her bottle, Shana tilted her head. Was Derek blushing? There had to be something more to that nose subject. "You're blushing, mister." she said, wiggling her eyebrows before putting the coke bottle to his face so he could cool off. "Is there something going on in your mind?"

[Derek Mathaw]

Derek leaned against the bottle she offered, and felt his face cooling. He was still flushed as he snatched the drink from her with wiggling eyebrows and took a small sip, playfully. He felt himself blushing again when she asked what the story was. "I might have gotten a nose job," he mumbled into his hands, sure she couldn't hear him. When she gave him a look, he moved his hands, gave her her drink, and took a deep breath, letting it it slowly before he filled his lungs up with air again. "I broke my nose a few years ago playing lacrosse and I had to get a nose job to fix it and that's why I moved here, because kids picked on me for it. Don't laugh, please," he was genuinely ashamed and looking at the floor.

[goodgollyalex]

A big smile spread across Shana when Derek gave her her bottle of coke back and began explaining why he was so conscious about his nose. She smiled widely not because she thought it was funny but because Derek told her the truth. It meant he trusted her and that made her feel really good inside. Although, Shana did giggle because of the butterflies she was feeling and let's face it, the image of Derek being tore up in the field amused her some.

She continued giggling, "I'm not laughing because you were picked on or your nose job... It's just that you're being honest and it makes me happy..." Shana said, smiling brightly up at him before leaning closer to give him a peck on the tip of his nose. "They did a really good job. Maybe when I turn eighteen you can hook me up for a— I dunno... Boob or ass job? Maybe both." she was absolutely joking but she looked quite serious as if she was contemplating it.

[Derek Mathaw]

Derek turned his head away and snorted when she started laughing. He wanted to be mad, but he couldn't be. When she explained why she was giggling, too, he was smiling just as widely. "Of course I trust you and stuff," he said, his arms latching around her waist again as he drew her closer. The kiss on his nose made him wrinkle his nose and twitch. "Thanks for not being cruel about it. I don't think I could have stood it if you were mocking me." He brought her in for a kiss, long and fulfilling. "You don't need a boob job - or an ass one, either," cheekily, his hands slid from her waist to her butt, and he pinched her before quickly drawing away, this time, he was the one chuckling.