no such thing as a beautiful nightmare {LEO}

[Leogare Lasteulf]

Leo endured the comment on his mental stability, he'd expected as much in all honesty. But when she asked her question, Leo had to chuckle a bit.

"Do I look like a precog to ya? How do I know what life'll be like with you in it or without? I don't, but hey, what's the harm in finding out?"

He paused for a moment, and his next words were serious. "Cameron would have agreed with you on that one, that dying without causing pain is better then living with it. But I don't. I mean, I had my chance to end it. I was the cause of the death of a mother and her child, a fact that still haunts me, but I choose to stay in the game."

Leo glanced out the darkened window, lost in thought for a moment. "I'd like to think for all the bad I've done, I've also done a little good. Maybe I'll never atone, hell knows I can't make it right for a boy that had to grow up without a mom. But what good would just letting it all fall away do anyone? You fight, you persevere, I did because I didn't know what else to do. Like my mom always said: Wo Leben ist, gibt es Hoffnung."

Leo smirked for a moment before he translated the German. "It means, 'Where there is life, there is hope'."

[ĸara вelova★]

Kara couldn't help the smirk after his mother's motto. She stepped away from him so he could no longer touch her, and shifted her weight to one foot.

"Where there is hope, there are fools." It sounded like song lyrics in the making, and Kara had the urge to get her violin. But she tucked the quotation away in her memory for later use, because right now she wanted to spend more time with Leo. The distance from him cleared her head, but it also raised the hair on her arms. Without his body heat surrounding her, Kara realized just how freezing the common room was with no blazing fire place. An involuntary shudder ripped through her body, the little nightgown shivering about her frail figure.

She should get back to her own bed, but that room haunted her as though death itself waited in the shadows. Kara didn't believe in the monster under the bed, or the boogie man in the closet. She believed in much worse things, like the devil materializing out of no where to claim her soul for his own collection of shiny, stolen goods. It would serve her right, she knew, but it didn't stop her from fearing it.

"Would you mind if I..." ...stayed? "..." Just for a while, "..."

Instead of babbling like an idiot, she left the sentence open to interpretation, hoping Leo would understand her request and accept her for the night. If not, she might head out to the school grounds. Anywhere but her bedroom was an option tonight.

[Leogare Lasteulf]

Leo smirked himself, and then noticed. Kara had smiled, she'd made a joke. Was this some sort of breakthrough, or should he just ignore it so she didn't get shy and resume her stone faced disguise again. He saw her shiver and resisted the urge to pull her to him again, letting her speak.

"Would I mind?" Leo echoed, noticing the slightest bit of color in her pale checks as she refused to meet his gaze. "Never turn down a lady, that's a rule of mine." He said, smiling up to her. "So...."

He was unsure as to what this girl had in mind, this girl who was as defensive as a porcupine but as fragile as glass. Did she mean to return to his room? Or simply remain here in his company? Did she want another kiss or was it even if she was asking for his silence. He wasn't terribly good at reading her right now.

[ĸara вelova★]

She wanted to stay with him, she did, but she was too scared to ask. Leo was being so kind to her, so open to suggestion. Kara thought she was selfish, but she didn't want to take advantage of his pity the way she might with someone else. That, or she was too embarrassed to ask for what she wanted. So even though Leo said he'd do what she wanted, she was too scared to tell him what that was.

"A... blanket?" Her entire sentence made absolutely no sense, but she hoped he didn't notice. Would you mind if I... a blanket? Kara cringed, not only at her disconnected words but also because of her lack of courage. Here Leo was, telling her to be who she wanted to be, yet here Kara was, terrified to try.

She didn't know how.

She wanted to tell him thank you, for his encouraging words. She wanted to ask him how he went about 'living', though she had a pretty good idea, and those weren't things Kara would do, even on her best days. But maybe he could help her find a way to be who she wanted to be without being ridiculously outgoing. Kara wasn't the flirtatious, outspoken girl. She could be quietly determined, because if you never told anyone your aspirations, no one would know if you failed or not.

[Leogare Lasteulf]

Leo arched an eyebrow at her squeaked response. "A blanket? No, that isn't what you meant to say." He said, not so much asking her as he was telling her. Leo merely stared at this girl, terrified of something she could barely understand.

Though if Leo claimed he understood it, he'd be a liar. He knew there was something about this insecure, alone and shy girl that made her lash out against others. These same qualities were what made her so afraid to open up now. And it was something about this girl that drew him inexorably closer to her.

"I'm not psychic, I can't see into your mind, the future, the past, or anything that isn't right in front of me. Hell, you're right in front of me and I can't even see into you, so all I can see is the girl in the nightgown. Unless..."

She'd have to let him in before he'd be able to see the truth that was Kara Belova. The glimpses he'd gotten unto now had been like through a fog, similar but indistinct.

[ĸara вelova★]

Kara scowled. He may as well be a psychic, she thought miserably. Though she was well aware of how terrible an actress she was being right now. He was going to make her say it, and she wasn't going to let herself. Leo and Kara, always clashing. They really weren't meant to be, but it didn't stop them from thinking about it. At least Kara knew she was weighing the impossibilities.

"Stop talking about the nightgown," She complained, though it seemed like the storm had passed, and Kara was in a slightly better mood than she'd been before. Leo's easy way of talking was taking effect and calming her, if just a little, it was enough for her to fight the smiles back. But everyone knew Kara didn't smile, so squashing those urges wasn't overly difficult for the would-be pretty brunette. "If it's really bothering you, you could grab a blanket to cover me up."

Hint. Hint. She crossed her arms over her chest, and the movement lifted the hem a little. But it was a noticeable little. Kara never intended to go out in public wearing this again, not after the first time, and truth be told she was embarrassed. But there was no blush on her cheeks to indicate the truth, and she appeared to radiate a confidence she didn't possess. Her eyes were narrowed, but she wasn't glaring at the shirtless boy in front of her. She was scrutinizing him almost, debating whether or not he'd leave her there to freeze.

I don't want to ask. You need to offer. Kara was too accustomed to taking what she wanted. But Leo was different. With him it always felt better when he gave her something. Her lips tingled at the memory...

[Leogare Lasteulf]

"Cover you up? Now why would I help a lady get more dressed?" He remarked with the classic style, he figured it was time to relax back to his usual ways. People tended to calm down around the familiar, so he'd act as she'd expect of him.

But he figured she'd shoot down his other offer of making her warmer, so he might as well play her game. "But first..." He said, gesturing to the window behind her. "Isn't that of a bit more concern?"

When Kara turned, of course there was nothing outside the window except for the far off lights of the city, but when she turned back she'd see Leo there, now with a blanket fresh from the linen closet held in his hand.

"And look at that! It's like magic!" He held the blanket out to her.

"Is this what you wanted? You have to do some of the work."

[ĸara вelova★]

Oh, he was back to his smarmy self. And as he predicted, Kara immediately relaxed now the intensity seemed to pass. When he motioned to the window, she did indeed turn, wondering if the reason she was so cold was because it was open. Confused when her eyes disagreed with her assumption, she turned back to ask Leo what he meant when a blanket materialized from nowhere. She took it tentatively, eying him with the skepticism she was infamous for.

"This is good..." She replied, voice uncertain. Again she was fighting a smile, but she refused to let her lips betray her amusement. Kara wrapped it around her shoulders and instantly the warmth returned to her. Yes, it was like magic.

She shivered out the last of the cold and took the tiniest step toward him. If Leo's eyes weren't as sharp as they clearly were, he might've missed it. She sort of wanted to thank him with a kiss to the cheek, but felt it would be inappropriate. So of course she chickened out, and kept her distance once more.

Only Kara would push you away when she wanted to get closer.

"Is your room warmer than out here?"

Or... maybe not!

[Leogare Lasteulf]

It will be if you want it to be.

No

I could do my best to warm you up.

No

You could see how warm my bed is.

NO!

Leo hadn't been expecting such a forward question, and seemed to be at a loss for how to respond to her. Exactly how forward did she want him to be? This girl was endlessly confusing, a pinnacle of her gender.

"I suppose it would be, come on then." He reached out to wrap his arm about her shoulder. If she did not resist, he'd guide her towards the door to the men's dorm. "Oh hmmm...might be a scene...maybe you should...you know...be invisible?"

It seemed rude to suggest it, but people were probably still aware, if not out in the hallway, so any precaution to avoid a scene for her sake.

[ĸara вelova★]

She almost took offense to his suggestion of hiding herself, but she heard the voices behind the doors. Boys were consulting with each other over what the racket was in the girl's dorms. Were they deciding to go check and see what it was? She tilted her head, as though this might help her hearing, and she couldn't hear anything coming from the girl's dorms. For all the boys knew, the girls might've been slaughtered and they were next. She tried to hide a semi-sadistic smile at freaking out the entire school in one go, and without even trying! So she leaned into Leo as he slid his arm over her shoulders, and incorporated it into her chameleon state.

Leo looked kind of stupid with his arm wrapped around thin air.

As they came to a stop in front of the door, she decided to let him open it. She didn't want to be the first one to step into the hallway, plus it would be weird if Leo waited for an invisible person to go ahead of him. If this sneaking into his room was going to look natural, she couldn't be detected. So she nudged Leo's ribs with her elbow to indicate that he should take the lead.

And as always when she was with Leo, her adrenaline spiked as she thought of the unknown ahead.

[Leogare Lasteulf]

Leo felt the poke at his ribs and released her, assuming she would follow him. After all, she acted and looked like a ghost, she should be able to move like one too. Leo opened the door leading into the hallway, and looked up and down the hall, several other guys looked down at him, acknowledging his presence. Leo let the door hang open for a moment as he looked down the hall, shaking his head as the boys talked about what might have happened. He moved to his room, rather slowly, and then opened that door again, holding it open as he turned to address the hallway.

"Do you guys have nothing better to do then whisper in the hall like you saw a ghost or something? Get over it." He looked into his room, and of course saw nothing. But that didn't stop him from crossing the threshold and closing the door.

His room might have been a bit of a surprise, one would expect him to be a slob but the room was actually well taken care of. Or perhaps it was just never used. Perhaps the most clutter the room had was Leo's jacket thrown on the bed post, and a dresser filled with various clothes. Most of them folded in only the loosest sense of the word.

A magazine or two dotted the room, of course they all had various pieces of machinery or vehicular designs in them.

[ĸara вelova★]

Kara stuck close to Leo, using him to navigate the maze of boys. It was definitely an adventure for her, having never been to this section of the Academy before. The perplexed looks on the other students' faces made her snigger to herself, an inexplicable source she could draw some pride from. Those puzzled expressions were her doing. Leo's words had her biting back another smile as he casually let her slip into his room ahead of him. The moment he let the door shut behind him, she dropped the invisibility, but still clutched the blanket tightly to her thin shoulders.

Her silence would have to serve as Leo's thank you, because she'd already been too grateful to him tonight as it was. She still wasn't anything lovely to look at, but the alert and nearly alive spark in her eye made her face that much more interesting to look at. She might still have the gaunt shadows of a skeleton attached to her skin, but when her expression showed so much more light than usual, no one could argue. There was definitely something intriguing about Kara Belova.

But she wouldn't give Leo too long a chance to examine this new her. She turned around, eyes taking in his room with the usual curiosity she had when discovering a new place. Of course her instinct was to lock in on anything that wasn't nailed down, and then to categorize from there what was valuable, but she couldn't find it in herself to actually work up the desire to steal anything. Besides, she noticed as she glanced about, Leo didn't leave anything valuable out in the open. And what personal items she did see didn't interest her in the slightest. At least not for personal gain. They interested her in another way; discovering Leo's personality.

She had been expecting the typical mess of a teenage boy's room, but the state he kept his dorm boasted a maturity he couldn't speak himself. Kara liked how he seemed to put his things where he could easily access them; the magazines and the jacket slung over the bed decor demonstrated how easy-going he was, a fact she already knew but now saw supported. She wasn't sure what provoked this small smile to her lips. She decided it was refreshing, that Leo could surprise her without any deliberate actions he made himself.

When she turned back to him, her smile had fallen to a more neutral curve, but the amusement in her eye gave the appearance of an upward lift.

"Nice room," She offered at last.

[Leogare Lasteulf]

Leo watched as Kara reappeared and surveyed his room, finally speaking her approval at the state of his living arrangements.

"Glad it meets your approval." He said with a small smirk, lying back on his bed, staring at the ceiling for a moment before turning towards her. "Well then, now you see the secret life I lead, who would have guessed that I didn't fill my room with 'virgin posters' and pointless crap. Must shatter your image of me."

Truth be told, he was a bit lost for what to say or do. Kara had wanted to be here, true enough, but for what reason? She really didn't seem like she was 'in the mood.'

Then again, she'd surprised him before.

[ĸara вelova★]

"I didn't think that," Kara lied, and the lack of emphasis in her words refused to reveal whether or not this was the truth. She watched him cross the room to his bed in silence, eyes following him. It was the first time she saw his back; she hadn't really been paying attention when he left his room to go to the common room. She'd been a little distracted before with her own thoughts of Leo being her nightmare murderer. But now that she could see his back, moving naturally with his step, she saw he wasn't just muscled in the front. Leo had a beautiful back.

She diverted her eyes, a little embarrassed at her thoughts. She used to be an artist, but her skills were dwindling with lack of practice. But Leo's gorgeous body made her want to pick up a paint brush again, a ridiculous notion in all this drama. Still the way she studied him, with hidden admiration and careful calculation, her mind was memorizing the curves and lines he made unconsciously so she could reflect them later from memory.

Then he flopped onto the bed, taking away her view. She kept quiet, mulling over the brief glimpse of perfection he'd offered her unknowingly. She felt awkward and undeserving next to him, a feeling she often got around anyone who was in relatively healthy condition, but when she was with Leo it turned into a self-consciousness she'd formerly been unaware of. She was usually loathe to comparisons between herself and others, but from the first moment she saw Leo, he'd unwittingly provoked an envy within her. He was everything she would never be, and even now that she knew him better, that fact was truer than it ever was.

She still stood in the middle of his room, and she was soon struck with how peculiar it was, with him on the bed and her just... there. The discomfort within her strengthened, and shortly she found herself drawn to the bed, if for no other reason than to decrease the awkwardness between them. Kara perched herself on the side of his bed, not unlike a timid bird ready to take flight at the slightest provocation. She clutched the blanket to herself tightly, hoping dismally that if she hid her body from him long enough, he'd forget how ugly it was. Maybe his imagination would conjure up a different image of what lay beneath the sheet.

[Leogare Lasteulf]

Leo looked up when Kara joined him on the bed. Well now, this was an odd turn of events. When she sat there, looking as if she might faint, Leo decided it was time to shatter what little mood their might be, just to set the poor girls mind at ease.

"Hey, just so you know. I'm a lot of not so nice things. I'm sure you have a few bigger words then I can muster, but I am not the type to force anything. So lay down and get some sleep, nothing else needs to happen."

He must have been insane. He could have easily seduced this girl and had her out of her clothes in minutes if he was on top of his game. But here he was, just inviting her to lay next to him with nothing else happening. What the hell was wrong with him lately?