Once Upon A Time... discussion

(Awkward Entrance Placed Here!)

Lance sat by the shore, digging his feet in the sand as he watched the surf

Ginny walked along the beach. Her thoughts were distracted, and her hair waved behind her with the wind. The ocean was one of her favorite places, it just felt so...earthy. She wore a simple tank top and shorts-with her feet bare. Ginny nearly fell on top of the boy, it seemed like he had materialized directly in her path. At the last second she turned, falling to her knee's in front of him instead of on him. "Uummph."

Lance was shocked out of his thoughts as she fell in front of him. "Gah!" He muttered, hopping up and helping her up. "I'm sorry."

Her blush was obvious, and she tried not to splutter. "No-er its my fault. Sorry." she muttered, trying to step away. Ginny nearly lost her balance again, but caught it quickly with his steadying hand. "Thanks."

He gave her a lopsided grin, "No problem." He wasn't sure what to say so he shoved his hands in his pockets, staring out at the coast. "it's a nice day."

Ginny turned her head towards the water, nodding.

"I guess I'll see you around then.." she said, taking a step past him. She hesitated, but wasn't sure why. Ginny wanted to keep talking to him, but chickened out-and kept walking.

He watched her leave, smiling as he called after her, "I'm Lance by the way. And I don't think I caught your name."

She cast a glance over her shoulder, but didn't stop walking. "No...I don't think you did." she replied, a smirk shaping her lips. Ginny was surprised by her answer. She was usually polite and shy to strangers. But this guy almost seemed to ask for the sarcasm.

Lance laughed, jogging after her. He wanted to know her name, whether she was willing to give it or not.

Ginny's eyes flickered to him as he caught up with her, but other than that she pretended as if she hadn't noticed. Her lips twitched with a stifled smile, and she let her hair fall into her face to cover half of her features.

Lance came into pace beside her, grinning, "Listen, I don't want to have to call you Clutz every time I see you, it'd be nice to know your name."

She scowled, clearly implying that would not be her nickname. Although that was better than some of the other one's she had acquired-Some people called her reds, or cherry, or even ginger. Ginny inwardly shuddered at the last one. "Lance..." she said, testing the name hesitantly. "Who ever suggested this wouldn't be the only time you see me?"

Lance raised an eyebrow, "You did say you'd see me around. I assume that means we'll have to meet again, Clutz."

Ginny's eyes narrowed at the use of her newest nickname, "Don't get yourself into something you can't win." she said, flashing a smile. "And, see you around, is the polite response to someone you almost crush when walking."

He chuckled, "Yes, and introducing yourself before leaving is a polite response as well." Lance had to admit, he was enjoying himself.

Didn't say I was polite all the time now did I? she thought, rolling her eyes in the slightest. Ginny paused, realizing she was coming off as kind of rude. She looked up at the boy fully for the first time--and was surprised. He was about half a foot taller than she, with dark hair and bright green eyes. His smile was so amused, she was caught off guard. "Ginny." she mumbled, not dropping his gaze.

Lance blinked, holding her gaze. He was surprised that she had actually told him her name, he hadn't expected that and as he looked at her he noticed her bright red hair dancing in the the sunlight. wow

The longer he stared at her, the more red seemed to bloom across her cheeks. Ginny wasn't sure why she had even talked to him...he was so out of her league. "Yeah. Well, Bye then." she said, surprised she had even said that before she kept walking-this time at a faster pace. Ginny often got nervous when talking to people. Especially guys. Her sentences started to blur, and then she didn't enunciate. Then it was all a big embarrassing mess.

Lance blinked, turning toward her retreating figure. "Hey!" He called, running after her again, "Wait up!" He wanted to talk to her

Ginny sighed, and grumbled to herself for telling him her name. He had distracted her-not intentionally-with his looks. "What?" she said, exasperated.

He caught up to her, "Why do you keep walking away? Seriously, Ginny, I'm not going to bite you." He chuckled

"Seriously Lance, don't waste your time." she said, sighing quietly.

He looked at her, slightly confused. "What do you mean?"

Ginny paused, unsure what she meant herself. Its not like he was asking anything of her. He was just being friendly, and she was reading into things. "Nothing." she said slowly, trying to gauge his expression.

She couldn't help but become agitated. Standing still like she was...sometimes Ginny thought she may have ADHD. It was hard for her to be somewhere to long without moving, running more like it. "Wanna' do something? Fun...Like a race?"

Lance looked at her, surprised by the sudden notion. One thing was for sure, Ginny kept him on his toes. "Sure." He said, laughing

Ginny gave him an amused smile, "I hope you don't expect to win.."

He chuckled, he wasn't slow, but he had no idea how fast Ginny ran. "I'm not sure what to expect from you Miss Ginny."

She pursed her lips, and effectively checked him out. "Same here.." she said slowly, letting her eyes meet his once more.

He raised an eyebrow, "So are we going to do this or what?" He grinned

"Only if your ready." she said, pulling her hair back into a lose ponytail. "Where to then?"

Lance glanced over the landscape, looking for a mark of some sort to run for. He ended staring at a large pine tree at the end of the beach, "How about the tree?" He pointed

"Sure." she said, making no move into any kind of ready position.

Lance glanced at the tree, remembering a story his brother once told him. He shook it out of his mind quickly, thinking about the race, "Ready?"

"Yes." she said, implying he was of lesser intellect because he hadn't already started running.

He glared at her for a brief moment before shouting "GO!" and dashing off toward the tree

Ginny waited a couple seconds before running, she didn't necessarily want him to see her. Running was like a second nature to her, and the earth supported her fully. She felt as if her feet never touched the ground. Not that they technically did. Her eyes took on a small tint of green, as she reached the tree-in the same second as Lance.

Lance laughed, exhilarated as he slapped the tree trunk, stopping himself as quickly as he could, "That was fun!" He grinned, breathing deeply

Ginny grinned, and hoped he hadn't noticed the way her hand slipped through the trunk. Earth. Always playing tricks. Sometimes she wondered if there was someone trying to ruin her for amusement. "Yeah. I think they may have been a tie." she said reluctantly.

He looked at her, laughing, "That must have been hard to admit."

"Don't be so superior." she commented, eyeing him with mock annoyance. Ginny was surprised by how much fun she was having. She normally never talked to anyone, especially guys, for this long-and enjoyed it. Ginny's eyes fell to the ground, and she hoped he couldn't tell what she was thinking.

he watched her, grinning. Something told him she didn't get out much, or at least, she didn't enjoy herself too much. He glanced back at the ocean, wondering why that was.

"I should probably get going." she said slowly, reading his distracted face. Ginny had the feeling he had other things on his mind. "See you around, because I'm polite."

He turned to her, not wanting to go. "Hey, wait." he muttered, reaching for her arm but stopping before he touched her

She turned her head, but didn't stop walking. "Good Bye Lance." Ginny mumbled, a note of finality in her tone.

He sighed, walking after her, "Where do you have to go anyway?"

Of course he wouldn't take a hint. "Home." she said, as if that should have been obvious.

He rolled his eyes, "Oh, wow, that's a shock. Seriously, don't you just have fun?"

Ginny's face flushed with embarrassment, and his words stung. "Lay off." she said coldly, but the hurt was obvious across her features. "I was having a nice time before you tripped me." she said, twisting the events. He could have easily tripped her-just as much as she could have fallen over him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Megan wandered to the ocean, finding comfort in the deep sound of the waves crashing against the sand and rock, as it continues to reach upward towards land, but never quite makes it. There's a slight mist of rain that suddenly decides to pour as tears stream down Megan's face as well. She pulles off her shoes and sits on the shore, hugging her knees. Her mind is running a thousand miles an hour, trying to put her frustration into words, but not willing to reach her lips. But this was her favorite place to think and she didn't care who was there to watch her cry.

Ever since she was little, they treated her like she was special, like she couldn't handle herself. And at first she took it as being the youngest, but now they seemed to be holding her down with chains, refusing to let her explore the world on her own. Of course Megan knew that they cared for her, but maybe a little too much. she thought, taking a rock and skipping it forcefully across the howling wind and the rough waves.