Serenity Loves Company, -Eric-

[Charlotte Blake]

With her parental problems kept away temporarily in the back of her mind, Charlotte thought that she should be catching up on some reading. With her recent episodes, she really didn't have much time, or the effort to keep her eyes on a decent book. But after some recovering what Charlotte would try to name it as a summer shock, her interest in reading was back to normal. School was out for the weekend, and Charlotte thought she'd use her time to go to the park for some quiet time, or if she ever got bored of her book, she could 'people watch'.

Finding a nice reliable bench near the lake, Charlotte sat back and opened to the first page of Kite Runner. A book she has heard so much about, but hadn't really the chance to read it until now. Sitting peacefully, and trying her best to contain the memories of her mother forcing her to do the Irish hop back at St. Patricks day, and trying to absorbed the first few lines of the first chapter. It wasn't hard really, the lake was a peaceful area, maybe not as kept and adequate as those in the city or back in Sydney, but it was queit at least.

[Eric Draven]

Eric was out wandering around Narragyambie, which he did quite a bit, actually. He swore to his mother that he would be a 'good boy,' in her words, and he was really trying. The weather was nice, nice enough where he didn't have to wear a jacket, and he took the opportunity to get out of the school. Honestly he didn't like sitting around in a building. Even during breaks he would go out of his way to go outside before the next class, or dinner. He'd been at Tallyguranga for a total of two months now and during that short time he had yet to really talk to anyway, which was one reason why he was now walking up to the blond girl who looked about his age, he thought he had seen her at school before.

Actually starting a conversation was something foreign to him. People usually found him, which brought trouble in most cases. Actually in every case he had thus far in his life. Part of him liked that trouble though. He couldn't stand standing still for too long and the adrenaline was like an addiction to him. He didn't ever think that starting a conversation with someone random could produce a small shot of adrenaline.

Eric walked up behind the girl and eyed the lake before moving over to her side. One should definitely not sneak up on someone all by themselves, not unless they knew they anyway, “Umm, hey,” he said to her slowly, “I'm Eric Draven, but most people call me Draven.” He looked at the cover of her book then back to her face, “Mind if I sit? I'm in Sturt, by the way, what house are you in?”

[Charlotte Blake]

But then again, serenity does love company... or was it misery loves company? Ah, who knew... misery and serenity sounds identicle anyway. It was a good thing that Charlotte was in a nice enough mood to be friendlier then she would have been since the past few days. Closing her book, Charlotte whipped her head to the source of the voice... and those grayish eyes. The blonde managed to blink several times, before composing herself so quickly that the brunette might not have seen her staring.

Book are not the only thing that Charlotte can read, but people as well. From their body languagge, to how they stand and speak. Charlotte's mother call it female intuition, but Charlotte calls it common sense. And reading the brunette, Charlotte can honestly depict that he wasn't the most facile speaker. "Draven?" Charlotte couldn't help but giggled, "Usually people prefer themselves to be called from their first names" she clarified smiling at the boy now.

"Yeah, of course" Charlotte took her 'Country Road' duffel bag from the seat next to her, and moved it to the floor just below her knees. "I'm Charlotte Blake, Bourke house" she smiled again, her eyes couldn't help but steal glances at the deep grayness of his eyes. She just prayed that she he doesn't notice, or she'll have a hard time coming up with words. "So..." she trailed, not knowing how to start a conversation. "...You're new to Tally this year aren't you?" she asked.

[Eric Draven]

Eric grinned at her giggle and nodded, “Yeah, force of habit I guess,” he replied and took a seat next to her. How many times had he been called Eric in his life? His mother called him Draven now, too, but he wasn't sure why. Maybe she had just gotten used to it as well. When one is in as much trouble as he had been in there is very few who call you by your first name, “Draven sounds much more appealing than Eric,” he said by way of false explanation and thought that it worked well enough.

“Nice to meet you, Charlotte,” he said thinking that she was eying him in a weird way. He looked left, then right, then down at himself as if he expected something to be there. There wasn't, but then he noticed she was just looking at his eyes. He visibly relaxed and looked right back at her bright green ones. He thought they were paired nicely with her golden blond hair and silently wondered if it were natural or not.

“Oh,” he said being drawn back to conversation and he looked at the lake, “yeah, this is my first year here. I was supposed to have been here for my first year, but my family had to move so my first year was spent at Hogwarts in Scotland,” he was finding it easier to spout off his history like sports statistics, “then we went to Greece for almost a year,” he was counting off with his fingers, “after that I spent my third, fourth, and fifth year in America. Now I'm here,” he finally finished.

Eric hated moving around and it made him resent his mother in a way, but it made him resent his father even more. He really had no idea where the man was and had very little desire to find out. He had run away from Eric and his mother when things got rough, just like he had run when things got tough. In a way they were a lot alike, which was why he hated the man so much. That was why Eric trusted few people and was virtually thriving for security. It was pretty oxymoronic if one looked at it closely.

“So where are you from,” he asked her unable to really place her accent. Part of him thought European, but there was an obvious hint of Australian in there. Then again, that could be because she spent so much time here. He was sure that over time he would develop an accent, like most did, but right now he sounded very American.

[Charlotte Blake]

Despite Eric's weak explanation that Charlotte could easily tell from many years of people watching that there was more to than what he says, and she simpy nodded. "Well I hope you don't mind if I called you Eric...". At least she was asking right? Besides, Charlotte couldn't let herself be known as 'everybody else' for the rest of her senior school life, also, calling the boy by his last name seemed rather... too impolite (go figure!).

Once noticing where Eric's eyes were staring at, Charlotte quickly shifted her gaze to the lake beyond the him. He knows! Charlotte mentally exclaimed, knowing the brunette had caught her staring at his eyes. Then she felt his eyes going through her hair, which made her look at him again. Charlotte did not want to make the conversation any more awkward that it already is, so she just kept staring straight at him, like any normal person would.

Charlotte awed in enthusiasm, realizing that there was more than a well built figure and fitting nice eyes, but that Eric was also quite the traveller, and he was an American... which would explain the American accent she thought. "Scotland? Greece? Wow..." she could help but pointed out, "I've been to Scotland once or twice, but haven't had the chance to visit Greece or America" she told him, "You've been to alot of places for a man of your age, you must really enjoy travelling" she inquired, minding not to stare again.

"Sydney" Charlotte replied almost in reflex, which should be obviously differentiated by an Australian from the way she dresses. That was what she heard from her friends, 'people in Victoria dresses way differently', but she is complied to ignore the rumors that the Melbourne citizens have better taste. "My mother's actually Irish, but she moved here when she was seven. She met my dad at a quidditch game" she sneered at the thought of her father, and secretly wondered what he and his new girlfriend were doing...

[Eric Draven]

Eric looked a little surprised, but nodded his agreement, “I don’t mind,” he actually liked that for some reason. Probably because so few people truly called him Eric. He always thought it was funny how he had such common first and middle names, Eric Sean, and an odd surname. It seemed to fit him, though.

Eric watched her shift her gaze with mild interest. She was shy then. Eric wasn’t ever really shy, suspicious and paranoid maybe, but not shy. He was just…himself and in most cases that did not include throwing himself into a conversation with a stranger. Though he had done it a few times, but it was usually only where a girl was concerned. He grinned at her lightly when she looked back at him.

“Scotland is a beautiful country,” he conceded, “All green and rolling hills. Greece was empty, flat, and dead looking, at least to me. It was mostly farms where I was, which was near the school there. Then again I was only twelve and it was my first move so I was pretty bitter about it all,” Eric leaned against the bench and rubbed his eyes with his right hand, “Actually, I hate traveling and moving. I never wanted to move from Australia, but…we had no choice. Then again, I didn’t want to leave Scotland, Greece or America either. I liked America the most because we stayed there the longest, but like I said, no choice,” he finished with a shrug and looked back to her. Of course he didn’t bother to mention that it was his fault that they didn’t have a choice. Eric wasn’t one to lie, he would omit things, but if he were directly asked he wouldn’t make up some story to spare himself.

“Irish,” he replied with a grin, “I would guess southern Ireland because of your green eyes,” he sat there watching her in silence for a second then said, “I was technically born an American because my mother had me at Pine Gap, one of the American bases here, but when I was three her and my father separated and me and my mother chose to stay in Australia. So we got citizenship while my father went who knows where.” Eric gave a one-shouldered shrug, but it was half hearted. It hurt that his father left them, especially since his mother had no job or training to speak of. Having a toddler was hard enough, but then having to raise him alone was worse, especially when that toddler was Eric Draven. He was a hellion even then, or so his mother liked to tell him.

“So do you go to Ireland a lot,” he asked her curiously. He assumed she liked traveling by the way she sounded when she asked him about it. Eric wouldn’t mind staying here forever, though he doubted that would happen. Something always happened and Eric always ran, usually at his mother’s urging. Now she was sick of having to leave so if he messed this up he was going to be stuck with his father, either that or go it alone.

[Charlotte Blake]

"Okay then, Eric it is" Charlotte nodded regarding the brunette's name. She liked the name Eric, it wasn't very Australian, and it was simple sounding and natural, unlike Draven, which was pretty much a cross between a dracula and a raven. It would absolutely make one remember the Hitchcock classics.

Charlotte couldn't help but agree with Eric's explanation of Scotland, since she has had the personal pleasure of enjoying the country with her mother while they were away in Ireland. The distance between both country were not far, and the travelling was not strenous like Australia to to Ireland. Which sometimes was at times very exahusting and pretty much took the life out of you. However, Charlotte was rather surprise at how bleak Greece sounded from Eric, and somehow in a certain level she agreed. Of course, these opinion cannot be compared to her exposure only to landscape shots and outlooks from her father.

Despite the many intriguing places that Eric have been, the traveller himself was far more interesting. Charlotte somehow just couldn't get enough, probably from the many mystery novels she has read or maybe it's because Eric was very attractive against the picturesque view of the sun and the lake. "If you hate travelling so much, why don't you just stay at one particular place instead of city hopping?" and it was a pretty logical question Charlotte had to admit.

She nodded at Eric's percision in narrowing her mother's hometown. "Dublin" she clarified, "Eversince my parents got a divorce, I've been going there for the end-of-the-year holidays". It was really an excuse so that her mother isn't forced to go to Sydney with Charlotte and meet Lionel, Charlotte's father. Although they had left things in good terms, it was his womanizing habits that Megan couldn't stand. "Oh, that must have been pretty hard for you.." she paused "Growing up without a father" she finished, fortunately for Charlotte, she had the chance to grow up with parents. Even though they were really pretending to be with each other for her sake.