less of him [p]

[Jared Heber]

A crumpled piece of paper was held in his right hand. Something was written on it in flowing, black cursive. He glanced at it, then at the mailbox. Yes, the addresses matched. He was here. Tucking the piece of paper back into his jean pocket, he readjusted the shoulder straps of his brown backpack and went up the drive.

The home proved to be a mansion in his eyes. Then again, the entire neighborhood was--well, it seemed pretty high-class. Walls of bricks secured the fortress of a house, and he caught a glimpse of the prized garden just beyond. Yes, this family, he could safely say, was well-off. He hadn't known Katharine came from such wealth, but then, he was always surprised when he saw how much others had. It was always a shocking contrast to see the homes of cities, even small towns like this, in comparison to those fields his parents labored in. He frowned, feeling judgment well up in his heart. He knew he couldn't make any impressions about her or her family based on the size of their house. It was like others basing him on the size of his house (even then, not really his considering he was staying with his aunt and uncle), modest at it was. He usually didn't have a house.

Swallowing down whatever undeserved resentment he harbored, he inhaled a deep breath and knocked on her door. He couldn't believe it! He was here, here at her door. In his left hand were three white daisies, fresh and very much alive. They smelled nice, and he knew she would enjoy them. He figured he had to give her something, considering she was hosting him; he just wanted to show his gratitude. He was wearing the same dark jeans as before, but this time, with a dark green long-sleeved shirt. He wore the same tennis shoes. He didn't have a lot of clothes, and except for the occasional holiday present here and there, usually did not gain a lot of new clothes. But, he didn't mind if his closet was limited.

He knocked again, pulling his winter coat closer to him. It was cold outside with snow piling up to a few good inches. His cheeks were flushed. He had been outside for a long time, having walked his way to her house. Yes, there was no car to speak of, only him and his backpack filled with project materials. Quietly, he wondered if she would think less of him for being so materially-lacking. After all, she came from such a ri--he put the thought aside.

[Katharine Bates]

ooc: so...does the "[p]" stand for private?
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Kate had been waiting anxiously pretty much all day for 'him' to come. She had taken extra-long to decide on her clothing, finally deciding on her regular blue jeans, favorite gray undershirt modestly covered by a knitted short-sleeve shirt, and her sporty sweatshirt thrown over the top. Dressing warm was crucial in Corinth if you wanted to stay free of frost bite.

A back room, which was surrounded by a wall of windows was usually used for Mrs. Bates to grow some of her favorite flowers, but Kate had received special permission to grow her little pea plants there. She had cleared away a spot on the large table so they could work comfortably. You could say that Kate, unusually, was very much prepared.

After what seemed like hours, the hallowed knock of the door sounded. Kate's ears perked up, and suddenly a thousand thoughts started running through her mind. Should I get it now? No, that'd make me look desperate. But if I don't get it, and mom does, that'll make me look like I don't care. Yes, I should answer it! But what do I say? What will he think?

Once more, the door shook with a knock. She had to answer it. Now. Fast. Kate flew back to reality and sprinted to the door -- as fast as her socks would let her on the wood floor. Sure enough, right before she came to her destination, the friction of the socks gave way, and Kate flew in a head-first slide across the entry-way, knocking over a vase of flowers. Kate sighed with relief as the flowers fell on the carpet. Quickly, she stood up and dusted herself off. Hopefully, Jared wouldn't have heard the ruckus that had just gone on, and wouldn't ask. But that was highly unlikely. She barely had time to think about how hilarious her fall was.

Slowly, Kate opened the door, trying to keep a calm expression on her face. She saw him standing there, holding a few daisies. A smile burst out onto her face. The daises? I thought he was joking about that! she thought joyfully to herself.

Her 'opening-the-door-speech' had been forgotten when she slipped. For a second they stood there, speechless. "Ho, she said, but quickly corrected herself; "Hi, I mean, hi," The embarrassing slip turned Kate's cheeks red, but she couldn't help but smile and laugh.

Jared looked freezing. Naturally, Kate opened the door wider. "Come on in," she smiled, and led him over to the back room. On their way back they came in contact with Mrs. Bates. Kate turned to her mother and introduced Jared. Mrs. Bates grinned and said "Hello" in her charming English accent. Hopefully, Kate could be as charming as she was. So far, nothing had gone right. But life had taught Kate that it could be more fun when everything went wrong.

[Jared Heber]

Yep! Another feature of "my" breed of RPGs.

- - - - - -

It sounded like someone was having a fight at her house! Lifting an eyebrow, his face became drawn with concern. He withdrew his hand from the door, allowing it to hang mid-air as he waited for the ninja inside to kick open the door, smashing it against his body and sending him through the air. To his surprise (and relief), it was only Katharine who finally greeted him. She seemed frazzled, and calm as she tried to be, he could tell that she was all over the place. There even seemed to be a bump growing on her forehead, but he decided it was best not to mention such things--not yet, at least.

"Hello, I got you those flowers I promis--," he began, outstretching his arm and presenting her the flowers when he was interrupted by the words "ho" and "hi". Smiling, unsure of how to react, he nervously joined her in laughter. When she invited him in, he gladly accepted and murmured a thanks. He was freezing! Inhaling a deep breath, he entered her house and was almost floored by its magnificence. Mouth agape, he quickly snapped it closed as another "hello" was received. Nodding his head, scratching the back of his hand as he reached out to shake Mrs. Bates' hand, he tucked the still-held bouquet of flowers out of sight. "You have a beautiful house," he offered easily, smiling as his eyes drifted again to admire the interior décor of the mansion of a house. "My name is Jared Heber. Senior. I was paired up with Katharine to work on this science project. We need to grow a few peas." He turned his head to Katharine; she looked warm and comfortable, if not a bit flushed, "Katharine told me you have a one-of-a-kind garden." He hoped he wasn't pushing it too far, but so far, he had heard only good things about the English-accented mother. Standing tall, careful to keep his gaze steady and calm, he stood ready. He would go wherever his science partner took him.

[Katharine Bates]

sweet. I love your "breed" of RPGs. =D Sorry for the half-finished post. >.< Its a long story.
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Kate stood politely as her mother and Jared had a short, sweet conversation. A small tad of jealousy crept up inside her. Her mom was so smooth! She could talk without stuttering or anything. Lucky.

With a cheesy smile on her face, Kate looked around awkwardly. Grabbing a piece of her side-braid, she ran her fingers through the end of it. It was a habit of hers, when she was nervous. She would run her fingers through her hair. It usually happened when she had a braid on. Maybe it was cursed or something. She shrugged it off and turned to her partner.

"Hey, my mom is letting us use her greenhouse thingey in the back. It's over here," Kate motioned in the direction of the greenhouse thingey. The room was really random and it didn't really have a name. Katharine just always referred to it as "the greenhouse thingey", obviously.

The two walked to the back -- well, Jared walked. Katharine decided that slipping around on her socks would be *way* more fun. So naturally, she did. She slid down the wood floor halls with her fuzzy little socks.

The old room was bright, compared to most of the other house; Mrs. Bates was really keen on saving electricity, and had this obscure rule that you turn off every light in the house except the one you were in -- and at times, the front room light was on. Plus, the large windows let in an enormous amount of light that provided a happy and bright feeling that Kate always loved having.

They got to the room, and Kate motioned to an empty chair that Jared could sit it. Once they were all situated, Kate decided that they should start out their day with a little chat. It was much more relaxed. She didn't like being tense. "So yeah...," she started, "I pretty much slipped on my way to the door. That's what all that racket was," she grinned. Hopefully it would lighten things up a bit. Jared hadn't talked much since they got there. "I guess you can say I can be kinda...clumsy. But I can't help it! Sliding on wood floors is so fun."

Katharine shifted in her seat comfortably, giving Jared a chance to respond. Leaning back, she looked out the window. "So how was your day?" reasonable question. Wasn't probing, wasn't shallow, wasn't dumb. It worked. It worked quite nicely.

[Jared Heber]

It was fine!

- - - - - -

Introductions were to be short, he realized, as Katharine tore him away from his friendly "mother to daughter's friend" conversation. He gave a brief wave of goodbye, murmuring a "It was a pleasure to meet you," before obediently following the head-braided girl to the back of the house.

He did walk, watching with amusement as his friend slid on her socks instead. She beat him to the room, which proved to be a green house of sorts. Light flooded the room, pouring through large windows. He could see her entire backyard. As she motioned him to seat, he merely waved his hands in a "no thanks". He preferred to stand, hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans, back straight as he placed his weight on his heels. He wanted to stay close to the windows, where he had a view of the outside world. It made him more comfortable. She then explained to him the earlier raucous, and he chuckled aloud. So, she wasn't as skilled at sliding on the floor wood panels as he had thought!

Eyes never shifting to look at her, glued to the window, he did not say anything (which, in turn, led to a moment of silence); she was asking him a question. "Good." A curt answer. He knew she would want more. "This morning, I played lacrosse with some friends." They needed all the practice they could get, snow or not. He closed his eyes, remembering the cold morning hours, envisioning their impromptu practice and watching it evolve into a lacrosse-style snow ball fight. He opened his eyes and finally turned around. Cocking his head to the side, he smiled. "And," he was stretching it, "how was your day?" Remembering that he still had the daises, he lifted up his hand, again offering the flowers to her. "Perfect, I bet. You know, since I'm here and all." He was joking. "I bet these flowers are just the icing on the cake, huh?" He wanted her to take the flowers from his hands and put them in the vase. He could already her their shrieks of pain; they were dying of thirst. He walked over to her. He liked her side-braid.

[Katharine Bates]

ooh, love the new picture! do you make your graphics?
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Kate was relieved when Jared laughed along with her as she explained her clumsiness. When someone laughed, it always meant that the person was comfortable. Or, at least, it usually meant that. He had been standing, which told Kate he wasn't exactly comfortable then. Or maybe he just preferred standing. Either way, Kate was being way to nervous. Just relaaax. she told herself.

Still fiddling with her braid, Kate leaned back in her chair as Jared answered her question. She was unsatisfied with it, but thankfully, Jared continued. "Lacrosse? In this weather? Are you training for the Olympics or something?" was her astonished reply. Her voice was tinted slightly with sarcasm, though she really did want to know. Kate hardly did any outdoor sports aside from skiing during the winter. She was a bit wimpy when it came to outdoor things without tons of gear to keep warm.

The daisies! Of course! Kate loved them so much. Bringing her shoulders up in a cute manner, she offered her hand out and took the daisies with a small little grin on her face. She was really impressed, and the small smile was there to try and conceal her excitement. She got tingles around Jared. Kate's hands shifted from playing with the braid to fiddling with the flowers. As he talked, Kate's eyes flew to the other side of the room, where a vase was sitting, just waiting to be the holder for the daisies.

Still keeping her attention on Jared's words, she rushed to the other side and dropped the daisies in the vase. "Perfect, I bet. You know, since I'm here and all." Kate heard as she fixed the daisies in the vase. Sticking out her tongue, she turned and replied "Oh, yes, of course,"

Kate answered Jared's earlier question as she filled the vase with water. "My day? Well, my day was quite nice, actually," she grinned. Turning around, she finished, "I climbed a tree, fell out, and broke my arm." Her favorite joke. Most people would believe it, and lean in, astonished. "REALLY?" they'd say. She wouldn't be able to help but bury her head in her hands and think GOSH, you're so dumb! It was a playful little joke she loved toying with. Winking, she saved Jared from possible awkwardness. "Just kidding."

[Jared Heber]

Thanks!
And, yep! It's hard, because the actor I have for him is older...

- - - - - -

He laughed. No, he wasn't training for anything that big, but he was training for the team. Lacrosse, as their coach said, was just around the corner, and they needed to be prepared. Most spring sports began training in the winter, anyways. He figured Katharine wasn't familiar with sports--or something to that extent. It didn't matter.

The daisies were soon in a vase, and he smiled in approval. Now, they would last a few days longer than they would without water. "Good," he murmured as she talked about her morning, find his smile turning upside down as she then proceeded to tell him that she had fallen out of a tree and broken her arm. Furrowing his brows, he quickly caught onto the joke and merely shook his head from side to side. She was a playful girl. "Well, then…," he drawled, stretching out his arms, "Y'look pretty darn good f'r a girl with a brok'n arm." He spoke with a southern accent, walking around the room in circles. "Y'think y'r goin' be able t'plant them pea pods?" He was enjoying his time with her, but he wanted to work on the project. As much as Jared enjoyed his fun and games, he could be a very hard worker, serious.

Crossing his arms, he then cocked his head at her, examining her. "You know," he then drawled again, this time returning to his normal accent, "You could be on a sitcom." It was a random thought, but she had enough energy and was, by far, enthusiastic enough for such a job. He then leaned forward, looking at her more closely. He had noticed her earlier fiddling, had caught her nervousness. She didn't know what she was so nervous about--maybe, she was worrying about the project. "Oh," he added as an afterthought to his earlier words, "Don't worry so much. We'll get the project done." Sometimes, even he missed a few things. Especially when it dealt with--yes, pretty--girls.

[Katharine Bates]

Cool! You're really talented. =] Oh yeah, I had that problem when I was using Hathaway for Liz. Her pictures were so insane, and even worse--most were very indecent. It got so bad that I had to change her pb. >.< By the way, it's "Katharine", not "Katherine". xD Just realized you spelled it wrong...nothing too huge. =P
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Jared seemed itching to plant the pea pods. Well, there wasn't anything bad about that at all. In fact, if it was anything, it was a good thing. Someone was always needed to keep Kate on track. For now, at least. Someday she hoped to be more responsible and focused. It was always her new year's resolution, but the goal always faded away by April, or on a rare occasion, June. Kate strolled over to the table and took a seat at the nearest chair. The table, actually, resembled more of a desk; it was a shabby little thing, differing from most of the furniture in the house, which was propped up by four metal legs, that could comfortably fit their materials and pea plants -- nothing more.

Kate's materials had already been situated on the table. After Jared hinted at starting the project, she had gone straight to her binder, and grabbed her pencil. His humor had made Kate laugh, and his next comment enough to get Kate back into reality. The project reality. For a while, they worked on the project with no other interruptions, until Jared made a comment about Kate being able to be on a sitcom. Should she tell him? Kate's mouth opened up to talk, but she snapped it shut. It didn't seem like the right time, for some reason. They were already on a roll with the project, and she didn't want to ruin anything like that. Maybe she'd tell him later, when circumstances were more relaxed. It was true, Kate had been a lot more tense than usual earlier that day. Deciding to at least say something she remarked with a look out the window, "Yeah...maybe I'll try that out sometime...,"

About ninety minutes later, the pair had lots of information shoved into their brains, and all of their pots up. They contained what would soon be the cross-breeds between the plants. They only had to wait for them to grow, and record their observations. Kate leaned back and sighed. Finally! She felt like they had accomplished something. Maybe they'd get a good grade on this thing after all. That'd be abnormal. After all, Kate was never very keen on getting good grades. Turning to the side, she cracked her back -- another habit of hers. Being athletic, she always seemed to have something to "crack". "Well. What do you think about that, Mister Jared?" she said in an English accent. Being around her mother, she got pretty good at faking it.

She was, actually, quite proud of their little pots. They looked so good, so promising. Kate could already see the report card with a big "A" plastered across the front. "So then, now what?" she asked. She almost added in if he was going to come back next week to record observations, but she didn't know if they were even done for the day, or if Jared had other plans.

[Jared Heber]

Wow! I'm sorry! I did that with Tyson, too (called him Tyler). And, I like Elizabeth's new pb (what does that mean?). She's cute.

- - - - - -

His response was fluid, quick. "I shall say it is time for crumpets and tea, my dear Katharine." Apparently, he could fake a British accent, too. It was easy, considering he had spent the summer surrounded with native speakers. Offering a smile, he then sat there patting his knees, drumming out beats. He could be extremely fidgety, if she couldn't already tell. He always needed something to occupy his time. "And, I daresay your accent is rather, rather flawless," he had to drawl the final syllables, just for fun. He was then again reminded that she would do wonderfully on a sitcom, but he remembered how nervously she had reacted the first time around. It must have been a sensitive issue for her, and he could only wonder. Maybe her parents had something to do with it. Or maybe it was just her. He didn't know.

"But yeah," he then continued, returning to his normal accent, "I think it's about time we took a break. I'm kind of," he hesitated, "Kind of hungry." Then, as if on cue, his stomach growled, and although he did not blush, he was quick to bring a hand up to that unhappy stomach where he nervously smiled. His eyes then drifted to the planted pea pods, and he gestured to them with a sad frown. "Y'know, I would eat 'em if I could, but they might take a while to grow..," he joked, bending forward to stand up. He wondered if it was too much for him to ask her for a bite to eat. He didn't want to be intrusive...

Not wanting to push it, he stood there silent, smiling, with ever-growing puppy eyes. He would beg if she wanted him to. Just a snack. An apple. He figured she was the healthy type, always eating the good, wholesome nutritious chips, but he wouldn't mind some crumpets or some tea. They could drink Earl Grey with lemon. Yes.

[Katharine Bates]

No problem. ;] I love Lizzie's new pb, too. xD And by the way, pb means "play by". =]
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Apparently Jared wasn't half bad at speaking in an English accent. In fact, he was quite good. He must have spent some period of time with Englishers. You couldn't get that good without being around to pick up the exact "a" and "o" accents. Impressive, to say the least. Kate watched as he patted his knees continually. Nervous? Not exactly. He just looked fidgety. "And, I daresay your accent is rather, rather flawless." Katharine smiled and bit her lip. She always bit her lip for some reason. Whether it was nervousness, happiness, or if she was just being sly, no one could really ever tell. "And I daresay your accent is quite becoming as well," she accented the word as Jared had did, then laughed.

Katharine's hands were on her hips as she listened to Jared speak. He was hungry. Hunger was not allowed in her house! Especially a guest! Her mother would be quite disappointed. Ignoring the growl of his stomach, but still being captivated with Jared's cute puppy-dog eyes, Kate stood herself straight and bit her lip...again. "You're hungry! Right this way!" she announced. Before Jared would have had time to think, Kate had grabbed his hand and marched him into the kitchen, where she plopped him on one of the tall spinny chairs that were at the bar.

The refrigerator doors were swung open, as Kate inspected all means of food that could be taken in. There was cold pizza and fruit. That sounded good. She pulled them out and dropped them on the counter. "Do you like pizza? And apples?" she asked before returning to the pantry. She gasped. Cheese and crackers! Her favorite snack. Swiftly, she pulled both contents out of the fridge and pantry. "I hope you like cheese and crackers, too. Even though the crackers are organic," she called out from inside the pantry. "We're total health freaks around here," she said as she set them before Jared along with the pizza. Then she went back yet again to bring back two glasses of water for them. "Do you like tea? she asked. The question turned out to be rhetorical because she didn't wait for an answer.

About two minutes later, Jared had a snack-ish feast before him. A plate with pizza, an apple, water, and Earl Grey tea to top it off. Katharine loved going overboard -- especially with guests. It was so fun. Kate grinned a cheesy smile and snickered. She knew how crazy she had been. "About your sitcom comment...," she said as she took a bite of her pizza. She might as well tell him. It wasn't like there was anything else to talk about. "Did you ever watch the show 'Lovely' when you were like, 12? Do you remember 'Kaitlin' from it?" She played around with the tea bag in her mug, bouncing it up and down. Thankfully, she could take out her nervousness on something else besides her lip. She prayed he wouldn't get the wrong idea.