there goes my hero.

"Yeah," Julie replied, as if it were no big deal. Because to her, it really wasn't. She had never felt special or different before, just because she was the Overloridian's daughter. "Don't let that change how you think of me or anything. It's not that big a deal. We're just like any other huge, somewhat disfunctional family, really." Minus the whole crazy uncle thing, but Leif didn't need to know about that.

"Oh, don't worry about me thinking any different of you. I wouldn't expect you to think any different of me because my parents are stoners. That doesn't mean I'm a deadbeat. And just because you're the Overloridian's daughter, that doesn't mean you're a rich spoiled little prissy bitch, because you're not. You're pretty chill, if I do say so myself." He again almost reached for his cigarette. It was just habit.

"So your friends live on Annerb? Do they like it? I always considered moving here." He looked around at the nice land. "Getting away from all the Eilemaiden fuss and just living as a free man." He turned his attention back to Julie.

"Oh--well, they actually kinda just moved here a little while ago," Julie answered, subconsciously looking around. Annerb really was a nice place. She would have said more, about how Lily and Keiran only lived here half the time because their parents got separated, except she knew it wasn't really her place to tell someone that. "But yeah, Keiran--he's my boyfriend--he really seems to like it here. But he's happy just about everywhere else, too." She smiled a little. She loved her Keiran.

Leif nodded, taking another look at the land. "Maybe I could move here. I bet I'd like it a lot. I'm pretty much happy wherever I go, too." He looked down at his lap. "And I bet Skye would love it here. She'd have tons of room to run around and do whatever it is girls like to do." He laughed a little, looking back to Julie. "As long as it doesn't involve boys."

Quote :

"As long as it doesn't involve boys."

Julie rolled her eyes, but in a lighthearted sort of way. "You sound like all the guys in my family," she told him. "So protective. Poor Keiran used to be terrified of my dad. He and my brothers hated it when I started dating Keiran." Of course they all like Keiran now. Maybe because they had Kaiden to compare him to.

"So is Skye your sister?" she went on to ask.

Leif nodded and laughed lightly. He was pretty protective, but that was because he didn't want Skye to get hurt. He let her do what she wanted, he just watched over and made sure that it was okay. It was mostly because their parents didn't do anything. They were nice, but they weren't parents.

"Yeah, Skye's my little sister. Our parents are the opposite of protective, so that's probably why I care so much for her. Someone needs to, at least 'til she gets a little older. She's only six. You'll have to meet her sometime. She's cute, but a little...wacky."

"Aw," Julie replied. "Two of my brothers are six years old too, so I know what you mean. They're a handful at that age, and you gotta keep an eye on them." She couldn't imagine the trouble Cedric and Dorian could get into without watchful parents. They were little monsters.

Leif's face lit up as she said that she had two six year old siblings as well. "No way! That's awesome! We should get together and have them meet sometime. Kids usually get along, and Skye gets along with...most people." He could only imagine his little sister punching one of the boys in the face. He frowned a little bit. She usually pretended to be nice around adults and Leif's friends, but he couldn't imagine how she'd act towards kids her age. Ick.

Julie frowned thoughtfully. "They could...though my brothers are kind of going through that phase where they think little girls are icky," she commented. "They might be mean to her."

Leif sighed...in relief? "That's probably for the best, 'cause Skye can stand up for herself. If anyone makes fun of her, she'll return it tenfold. I think she likes making fun of people, actually..." he said, trailing off. "We're completely different. I'm really laid back and she's really...in your face. She's set on being independent, which is stupid because I'm here to take care of her. I was the one who had to be independent, and here she goes, wanting independence." He laughed lightly. "Whatever, she's a little kid. She can think what she wants."

"Wow. That sounds exactly like my sister," Julie replied. "Only my sister is fifteen, so it's really annoying instead of cute or whatever." Just because Julie had made peace with Christine didn't mean she didn't still find her to be incredibly annoying.

"Well I hope my sister grows out of it," he said, thinking about it some more. "I always kind of assumed that she'd grow out of it by the time she hit eleven or so, but damn, you're sister is fifteen and still doing it?" He frowned a little, but he was amused at the whole thing, so he was laughing a little too. "That sucks. I really don't like the idea of Skye being like this forever."

"You have no idea how annoying it is," Julie told him. "But she just settled, so maybe she'll start maturing. Hopefully." She sighed and shook her head. "I sure hope my kid doesn't act like her when he/she is fifteen."

"Well I hope the best for you, and for the kid, too," he said with a smile. "Even if the kid does act like that, you'll probably won't be so annoyed by it because it'll be your kid, not your sibling. Usually siblings don't like each other, but parents always like their kids. Well not always, but usually. And you seem like the type of girl who'll love her kid."

"I know I will, but that doesn't mean it won't be frustrating!" Julie laughed. "No, I'm exaggerating though. My sister's a good kid, she just likes to annoy me. But recently we've been getting along really well. We've reached a sort of truce. Now she doesn't try to irritate me very much, aside from the occassional fat joke." She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

Leif laughed along with her and nodded. He
looked down at her preggo belly, smiling at it. "I think your stomach's
beautiful," he said. He wasn't sure if it was because there was a baby
in there and he loved that idea, or because he thought Julie in general
was beautiful. Maybe he was just being a nice guy. "Not to be creepy,"
he added.

Julie blushed a little bit. Just a little. "I don't think it's creepy," she assured him. "It's flattering." She laughed a little tiny laugh. "Especially considering how low my self-esteem's been lately. Really, I appreciate it."

Leif's face lit up when she said all that. He wasn't looking awkward at all anymore. "It's a pleasure to flatter someone. Just being honest is all." He looked at the waves crashing against the shore again. They were pretty massive.

"Do you like water? I know you're Solas, but do you like waves?" he looked back towards her, a strange sense of excitement coming from him.

"Yeah...I mean, I live in Ughdarras so of course I like water," she replied slowly, wondering where this 'strange sense of excitement' was coming from. "Waves are...cool." Now she was the one looking a little awkward.

Leif turned so he was on the other side of the fence, jumping off of it. He pointed to the waves. "Check out how high the waves are! They're massive! I think we should let them hit our legs," he said, as if it was the coolest thing ever. "It'll be awesome, I promise."

He put his hand out in front of him, offering it to her to help her across the fence. "How 'bout it?"

Julie didn't think the massive waves were nearly as fascinating as Leif seemed to, but she didn't hate the idea of getting splashed a little. "Sure," she replied, smiling. She let him help her awkwardly climb over the fence. She stumbled a little bit once back on the ground. Good thing Leif had helped her.

Leif was glad that she was coming along. He walked with her down to the waves, rolling his jeans up to his knees so he wouldn't get too wet. He looked to her with a smile before walking into the cold water, breathing in at how cold it was.

"Eek!" he said with a laugh. "Kinda chilly." He continued walking in, his legs starting to get splashed higher and higher by the waves.

Julie tiptoed into the water, and quickly jumped back out with a similar "eek!" She crept back up to the water's edge and hesitantly stuck her toes in. "'Kinda chilly'? It's freezing!" she exclaimed, shivering a little as the water reached her ankles. She very, very slowly inched further into the water.

Leif looked back to Julie, who didn't seem too thrilled about being in the water. "You get used to it pretty fast!" he said, running back over to her, water splashing up around his legs. He reached out his hand for her to grab. "Come on, it'll be fine. You'll get used to it." He looked reassuring, that was for sure. A friendly guy like this seemed trustworthy enough.

Julie looked at him for a moment, then she smiled. "Okay," she agreed, taking his hand. She had to admit, her feet were already used to the cold water. Either that, or they had gone numb. But whatever, she was having fun, which distracted her from the cold. They played in the water and laughed and had fun, and for the time they were out there Julie actually felt like a normal teenager for the first time in months. She was glad she had come to Annerb today, and glad that she had met Leif. =]

END