restinglichface | Open rp post!

[He doesn't get to reject her first, thanks, that's against the rules.

The moment that "I'm good, thanks" slips from his mouth, Lup is already huffing, throwing her shoulders back and reaching out with one hand to shove him into the nearest locker. And that's that. Lup turns on heel and immediately stalks back the way they came, throwing up a hand as if waving his words away.]

Fine. Barold, whatever. Like I want your lame ass there anyway.

[So, on the one hand, the prettiest girl in school just touched him.

In and of itself, that's pretty swell. A beautiful person just laid their hand on him. In any other context, this would be a victory in Barry's book.

Except he'd just gotten shoved into a locker.

He hits the locker with his shoulder and head first, the metal door rattling fiercely under his weight, his book bag slipping from his grasp and falling to the floor. Barry whimpers on contact, then groans as he pushes himself off of it, his whole body burning with humiliation, head throbbing with pain.

More than the mortifying experience of being shoved into a locker in a populated hallway by the prettiest girl in school, Barry starts getting angry. All he'd done was retaliate to her bullying, and this is how she reacts?

Before he can stop himself, he's turning around to yell after her as she retreats into the crowd.]

O-Oh yeah? Like I wanna pay to watch you shove people around, anyway! [He's shaking with anger and adrenaline, not even thinking about the words tumbling out of his mouth, or everyone who can hear him.] Y-You do that for free all the time! 'S not even worth th'five bucks!!

[Lup's only made it a few feet before Barry's calling right back after her, his voice cutting right through her anger, right through the giant bruise he's left on her ego.

Even if it hadn't exactly been an invitation, Lup's not at all used to anyone saying no to her for anything, so the sting of one of the nerdiest boys in school rejecting her is going to sit with her for awhile. Especially if anyone else in the hallway heard them and will start spreading rumors.

Especially if those rumors get to her brother. Lup will never live it down.

But she's barely begun to stalk away when Barry's yelling back after her, not stepping down for a second, even after she's shoved him around. It's never taken her more than one shove to get someone to back down and scurry away before. Everything about this boy is surprising.

Too bad Lup can't just leave it alone.

She turns and both of her fists are clenched at her sides, pretty face twisted into an irritated scowl as she immediately stalks right back towards him.]

Say that to my face, nerdlord. I dare you.

[His first instinct when he sees Lup turn around and head straight back towards him is to tuck tail and bolt out of there. If he has to come back to school tomorrow after everyone saw Lup From Roller Derby beat the shit out of him, he might actually die.

But that rush of adrenaline is still surging through him, so he stands his ground, shaking as she approaches. Besides, he's sick and tired of being picked on all the time. He didn't do anything! Why is it anyone's business that he sits in the front of the classroom and Mr. Donavan in AP Physics loves him and he plays D&D at lunch and he's in glee club? He's never hurt anyone!]

Wh-Why are you so mean all th'time?

[It's nowhere near as loud as before, his voice cracking a little as he tries to keep from crying. His eyes nervously dart between her clenched fists and her angry expression, but he just keeps going.]

All y'do is shove people and say awful things. Y'already push people in roller derby, i-isn't that enough? [Barry rubs his arm.] That really hurt.

You don't know me! [Lup snaps back, her tight fists clenching at her side, but at least she isn't reaching forward to shove him again. Not yet.

There's so much more to her than just being an angry, argumentative teenage girl. It's not her fault that no one else can see any further than that. Besides, Lup doesn't need anyone's approval, especially not the approval of Barry J. Bluejeans. She has Taako, she doesn't need anyone else.

She never has before, why should that ever change? No matter how cute Barry looks when he nervously stands up against her.]

Besides, at least I'm mean to your face. I don't talk crap behind your back like everyone else at this school and then pretend to be your friend. [At least one group of girls nearby attempts to hide their embarrassment at that call out, turning away from the scene and quickly leaving through the crowd.] I'm the most honest person here and you know it.

[Huh.

This isn't about her just not liking him, is it?

Barry hadn't expected that at all, evidence of how taken aback he is written all over his beet red face. Some girls actually sneak away in the background, probably as surprised by Lup's angry reaction as he is.]

W-Well-- I don't talk crap behind yer back! Why are you shovin' me around? I didn't do anything!

[Still red and shaking and a little teary, Barry picks up his book bag from the ground and shrugs it back into place.] There's a difference between bein' honest and bein' mean. [A pause.] M-Maybe y'need better friends.

[It's not at all the kind of attention that Lup likes, but she huffs as the girls in the background sneak away, skinny arms crossing over her chest as she glares across the short distance at Barry. He looks surprised, still red and shaking and near to tears, but genuinely surprised in a way that makes Lup feel a little taken back too.

The last thing she ever wanted was to get in a public fight with Barry of all people, but it wasn't as if she could just walk away.]

Well then maybe you should accept friendly invites when they're handed out, Barold. Wasn't anything mean about that, was there?

Y'call me lame. A-And a nerd. All th'time.

[Barry frowns at the girl, watching her standing there with her arms crossed and over it written all over her pretty face. Meanwhile there's Barry, short and chubby and myopic, crumbled in on himself as he takes a pathetic, probably useless stand against a bully which, if school has taught him anything, is probably just going to make everything worse.

But he can't just... not. So he frowns at her.]

Yer always callin' me names or makin' fun of me or throwin' things at me in class. That's not funny o-or friendly. That's mean. [Barry starts turning around to leave.] No one would accept a "friendly invite" from someone who does that.

[It's only because he continues speaking that Lup doesn't respond to his accusation of her calling him lame and a nerd with 'well aren't you?'. But Barry stumbles forward with his response, frowning up at her, calling her out on her bullying that's been going on long since before they started school together. Now that he's actually putting it out there, it does sound mean, but that doesn't mean she appreciates being called that.

Something about the way that Barry's looking up at her with that frown against his mouth just makes her heavy.]

It's just a joke. [her response is a little weak, especially after he's just stated how unfunny it's been.] I do that with everyone. It doesn't mean anything. [a pause, Lup watching him turn to leave, her scowl dropping to her own frown.]

Taako an' I do the same to each other all of the time and I don't think he's mean.

[Barry barely catches her expression changing as he turns, her frown deepening, looking almost like she's more mad at herself than with him. That could just be his imagination. In fact, it probably is just his imagination. Why would she feel sympathetic towards him at all? Why would she care?

She doesn't even like him.]

Well, he's yer brother. You've known him all yer life. [Barry shrugs. Everybody knows the twins around here. They're both mega-pretty and mega-popular and mega-mean.] If I called you names all day, y'wouldn't think I was bein' nice to you.

Whatever. Doesn't matter. [Not wanting to keep arguing with someone clearly way out of his league, Barry storms out of the hallway, escaping into the schoolyard, wanting nothing more than to catch his bus and go home and play video games and forget this ever happened.]

[Even long after he's gone, Barry's words keep tumbling around in Lup's head, as if put on repeat, like she'll never be free of them. Even after she's back home for the evening, glaring angrily up at her ceiling at the memory of it all, she can't get the look he shot her out of her mind, his mouth curled into a distinct frown, disappointment edged around his expression.

Sure, anyone talking back to her, rejecting her invitations, or calling her mean would be enough to piss Lup off - though to be fair, at this age, she doesn't need much of a reason to go off - but knowing that it's Barry just makes it so much harder to just shake off and ignore. Not even getting her aggression out at the rink seems to do the trick. She's just going to pissed off until Barry J. Bluejeans finally apologizes and fesses up to his mistake.

So the next day at school her plan for retaliation is simple. She's just going to ignore him completely. Being taller than him, it's easy to direct her gaze right over him whenever they cross paths in the hallway, Lup never one to turn tail and go the other way, she just barrels on through, pretending he doesn't exist, not allowing him so much as a look of acknowledgement. And it works for most of the day, until they end up in History together near the end of the school day.

That's when she starts throwing paper balls at his head again, right back to her usual bullshit.]

[For all his concerns and anxieties throughout the night and the next morning, Barry somehow feels like he's hit jackpot when Lup doesn't beat him up first thing before Chem. In fact, she totally and completely ignores him. Doesn't even look at him. Not a single comment, not even a glare from her brother, just... complete freedom.

It almost kind of hurts to not have her attention anymore, if he's being honest. But he'd been so scared she would knock his teeth out as soon as she saw him, he'd barely gotten any sleep at all. This, he's decided, is much better. Sure, some of the football players give him a hard time at lunch, but that's just a natural part of the food chain. They're always mean to the culture club kids.

By the time he's in History right at the end of the day, sitting in his usual spot in the front of the class, he's almost completely forgotten about Lup ever having been mean to him.

Until he feels a little paper ball hit the back of his head. And another. And another. The look he pins her with is one of utter betrayal and disappointment. It hasn't even been a whole day, and she's still doing this.

Uncharacteristically, Barry has his bag packed before the end of class and is one of the first ones out of the room as the bell rings, making a beeline for his locker, stuffing everything inside with the force of a boy with a broken heart. If he can just get his things out of the way and rush to the choir room, maybe he can avoid her until she's left school completely.]

[Something about the look on his face fills Lup with a confusing mix of glee and hurt, like she's completely torn on whether she wants Barry's attention in a happier, friendlier way or if she'd rather just bully him until he bursts into tears. Right now, with her little grudge built up from yesterday, she's pretty sure that she just wants both.

But tossing little balls of crumpled up paper is only fun for so long, especially when the students around her finally stop giggling at every bounce off of Barry's head, so halfway through the class she just slumps down into her seat and tries to pay at least a little attention to the teacher, even if her eyes keep darting at the trembling shape of Barry's back, waiting to see if he'll turn to look at her.

He doesn't.

Instead, he zips from class as fast as possible the second the bell rings, quicker than even Lup can keep up with. By the time she makes it to the hallway, he's already at his locker, stuffing his backpack full, and something about the sight just makes the girl stride right up to where he's standing, moving her body in close to pin him in, a palm pressed up against the lockers right near his head.]

Why the rush? Pretty sure glee isn't going anywhere without you.

[Barry tenses up as soon as Lup's hand hits the locker next to him, her dark skin against the mint green metal impossible to miss, rings and bracelets and long, painted nails immediately catching his attention. His eyes widen under his thick glasses, cheeks getting hot as she speaks, her voice much closer to his ear than he'd anticipated.

She's right behind him. Barry trembles, white-knuckling the book he's pulling out of his locker, afraid to turn around. No one's ever this close to him unless they're beating him up or shoving him out of their way.

He can't tell if he likes or hates how it feels to have her right there behind him, pinning him in place.]

J-Just wanna get there in time. To. Organize. S-Some sheet music. [Mhm. Yep. Good excuse. He's still refusing to turn around, now slowly pulling things out of his locker and stuffing them into his bag, obviously stalling for time.]

[Too bad stalling never works with Lup.

Barry continues to refuse to turn her way, making the girl's expression twist into a scowl, irritation bubbling up within her chest immediately. Ugh, who does he think he is refusing to even look at her? Does he really think he's that much better than her with his expensive clothes and his loving mother and his happy home? Too important to even acknowledge her?

Not a chance.

The hand not pressed near his head gives a little tap on his shoulder, perfectly manicured nails brushing over his shirt.]

Helloooo, I'm talkin' to you, Barold. Least you could do is look at me.

[fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck--

This is bad. This is very bad. Barry can feel himself shaking, cheeks turning bright red, even the skin of his neck turning red under his bright white collar. His palms start getting sweaty. The prettiest girl in school - also the meanest girl in school - is going to make an absolute fool out of him in the hallway for everyone to see. It's like he can feel everyone's eyes on them, glancing over their shoulders, peeking behind their locker doors, staring at the two of them.

Barry doesn't know what to do. Should he keep ignoring her? Try to wrestle past her? Shoulder-check her and book it? In the end, he can't make bring himself to do any of those. Even though he's mad and hurt, he doesn't want to hurt her or make her more upset. All he can do, trembling and sweating and a little nauseous, is swallow, take a deep breath, hug his bag to his chest, and slowly shuffle on the spot until he's facing her.

He looks pathetic. But at least he's... making eye contact now? Sort of??]

Whaddya want...

There he is. [That scowl fades almost immediately, expression shifting to her usual predatory grin, showing off too much teeth, the girl leaning in closer as if they are friends just casually discussing homework.] Was starting to think you had a nasty zit or somethin' you didn't want me to see.

[But he just looks exactly the same as he did the day before, though maybe just a touch more red and shy, shuffling like he's afraid.

Part of Lup delights in that fear. She wants to pay him back for yesterday, to teach this kid a lesson he won't ever forget for making her feel all of these things she never agreed to. Barry asks what she wants and Lup's mouth falls open immediately, something scathing and cruel and meant to hurt right there on the tip of her tongue.]

Play hooky from glee and come hang with me.

[ - But that comes out instead.]

[Lup grins, and Barry's fears start to mount, rising in time with his beating heart. She's so close to him he can smell her shampoo, fruity and girly and so so sweet. He can see every little smudge of her makeup from a long day of school, every freckle dotted over her face, every crinkled line around her eyes as she grins like a cat about to eat the fat little mouse she just cornered.

He's convinced she's going to kick him in the groin and humiliate him in front of everyone. She's gonna punch him right in the gut, or cut him open with her cruel words, he's going to come home with bruises and toilet water in his hair again--

Except she asks him to skip club so he can hang out with her instead.]

Wh. What? [If Barry looked terrified before, he looks dumbfounded now.] Y-You wanna... hang out w-with me..?

That's what I said, isn't it?

[It may not have been what Lup meant to say, but now that it's out in the air between them and the other students lingering in the hall, she's going to roll with it as confidently as ever. She learned long ago that it doesn't matter how you act or what you do, as long as you make it look good.

And Lup knows just how good she looks.]

So? [The girl barely waits a beat before asking, free hand rising to flick her long hair over her shoulder, smile never leaving his face. She asks like it's really that easy, like all she has to do is ask him to hang for months of bullying to be forgiven.] That a yes or what?

[It's the strangest thing. Lup both looks and sounds genuine. Not like she's playing a trick on him or intends to humiliate him, but like she's actually propositioning him for an afternoon in her company.

Barry is struck by how badly he wants that.

But of course, his head is already stirring with possible reasons and consequences for following his roaring gut. Why would she ask him? What does she want? What would they even do? She doesn't even like him! Do they have anything at all in common? What would they even talk about?

Does any of that even matter? Lup wants to hang out with him. Barry is nervous.]

H-How... How do I know y'won't just... tie me to th'flag pole by th'football field? Or throw me in th'dumpster? O-Or lock me in th'janitor's closet, or hook me to th'wall by my underwear, o-or--

[Listen, Barry has about a decade's experience with bullies. He's seen most of it. None of it is nice.]

Well - [The young teen draws the word out with a casual roll of her shoulders, just enough movement to give a quick look around them, to the few students still lingering in the halls, the eyes that won't leave her back.

She's pretty damn stuck now. It's either pull out and look like an idiot or go full confidence and inspire the rest of the student body with her supreme awesomeness. Clearly, out of the two, there's really only one option to go with.

Lup looks back to Barry and smiles, still sharp but there's a touch of playful warmth in her expression. Usually she's all sharp and hard, so being able to see this touch of realness? It's a definite honor.]

Guess you'll just have to trust me, my guy.

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