Disappointed in town (Friday evening-ish)

[Kat]

When she brought up Toffee, Lightning looked down at her with a surprised look on his face. "You know Toffee? That's odd, I only just met him myself today, actually. Jasmine latched onto him first thing this morning upon meeting him, she has a good eye for proper additions to our group, in much the same way as you caught my eye. The last I saw of him, he was trying out for the soccer team, which I'm sorry I missed. The soccer captain and I, Ace, have a rather bad history. Since Toffee is apparently a very good player, I would have loved to have seen the look on Ace's face when he'd have to give him a spot. For the longest time he's been the star of the team, and I've been longing for someone to come along and knock him down from his perch. So if Toffee is as good as he says he is, the prospect of him being on the team excites me." Lightning smiled at Jasmine, realizing that maybe he'd jumped the gun on that comment. What if she and Toffee hadn't parted on the best of terms, or maybe he'd just sounded a little too obsessed with bringing Ace down.

[Cres]

Bells listened intently, not letting a single change of expression save for surprise show on her face. The mention of Jasmine "latching onto Toffee" made her other hand squeeze into a fist where Lightning couldn't see it; the only outward sign of the storm that rose inside her. He had already found someone new, had he? That scoundrel! That was probably why he hadn't answered, she figured at once.

However, Bells was too experienced a player to allow her personal feelings affect the game at this early stage in a too damaging way. She got herself in control by the time Lightning finished talking, and smiled to him in her most charming way.

"Toffee does get around quickly, I see," she said with a laugh. She unfolded her fist from behind her and brought it up, to rest on Lightning's arm casually. Her mind worked quickly. Yes, this one she needed to keep. A plan slowly began to form in her mind. She congratulated herself upon landing on Lightning on her very first day here. "Oh, I'm sure he'll be happy to help you. I know him well, and he absolutely loves knocking people off their perches." She winked. "And I have to say I have helped him on several occasions."

[Kat]

Lightning smirked when she mentioned Toffee getting around-- just how did she know him? He was suddenly very curious, wondering if perhaps they used to date. All he knew was that Jasmine would be just as amused by this situation as he was now, though he wasn't letting it show as anything other than surprise at the moment. "That's still so weird, that you guys showed up here at the same time. I'd say it worked out nicely though, since you'll both be very welcome additions to the group." He winked down at her. The restaurant was just ahead.

"Well there it is, Bini Nila's. Let's go in, I hope you'll like it." He walked her up to the restaurant door, opening it for her. On the outside it looked fairly normal, it's outward appearance belying how it looked on the inside. Once through the door, the soft sounds of Indian music hit your ears, sitars and drums making for a nice ambiance. It was beautifully decorated and the scents wafting through the air were lovely. The waiters were dressed in Indian garb, looking lovely and standing out among the crowd of people inside. It was quite popular, many of the tables were full. Lightning glanced at Bells, hoping that she liked what she was seeing.

[Cres]

Bells smiled a little to Lightning's comment about how weird it was that they got there at the same time. No, it wasn't a coincidence at all. It was exactly as Bells had calculated it. But she'd rather die than admit it.

So she was happy that their arrival to the restaurant allowed her a chance not to comment on it at all. A smile spread over her face as she walked in. She genuinely thought it was lovely, though even if it wouldn't have been, she would have pretended to like it anyway. She had already deduced enough to know that she didn't want to push this one away. She looked around in the little place with an admiring smile and then back to Lightning, tilting her head a little coyly.

"It's absolutely lovely," she said, then looked a little worried as she glanced around. "But are you sure we'll get a table? It looks as though this place is full." She was fairly certain that the boy wouldn't have brought her there had he not been sure there'd be a table for them, and she wanted to boost his ego as much as she could; hence she figured that letting him show her that yes, in fact, he could arrange for a table in this lovely crowded restaurant for them. At least Toffee enjoyed tremendously that sort of shows.

[Kat]

"Of course I can get a table, don't worry." He looked down and winked at Bells. The place was busy, but not ridiculously packed just yet. They were greeted immediately by the host, who mentioned that he would go to check on a table for them immediately. When he left Lightning glanced around the restaurant. His eyes immediately fell on a table on the right side of the room, where one of his biggest enemies sat.

Without realizing it his eyes narrowed as he caught sight of Chase and his sisters, annoyed that they were here. Seeing Chase just reminded him of bitter thoughts from the past. At one point in time, he had considered Chase his best friend. But then things had gone sour and with no words, Chase had dropped him for Ace. He'd been really hurt at the time and his bitterness toward his former friend had never really lifted.

[Cres]

Bells smiled and stood beside Lightning casually as the host promised to look for a table. She looked round, more out of habit than actual interest around her. She didn't see anything that caught her eye, though, and so she turned back to look at Lightning and was just about to remark something non-consequential, when she saw the expression on his face. She lifted an eyebrow and followed his gaze over to Chase and his sisters. She didn't recognise the other boy or the girls, of course, but she was not dumb. Her eyes returned to Lightning again. Oh, she wanted to hear this story - she could tell.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, with low enough a voice so only Lightning could hear her. She didn't want to attract needless attention to them. She followed his gaze to Chase again, with a tactfully arched eyebrow. "A friend of yours?" she asked with a tone that clearly spoke she did not think for a minute that the other boy was Lightning's friend.

[Kat]

Unaware that he had been so obvious in his displeasure at seeing Chase, Lightning was quick to wipe the look of distate from his face. He glanced at Bells, a haughty smirk on his face. "Former friend, current aggravation. We were best friends as children, but he pretty much stabbed me in the back during our first year of high school. All for Ace, the one I mentioned before." Lightning knew he should stop his rant there, it wouldn't be good to give away too much. But unfortunately for him, his anger over the subject was still heated enough for him to keep going.

"He's pretty much Ace's lackey, like a fucking trained puppy dog, it's disgusting. And his sister, the older one with him, Holland, you'd want to punch her within five minutes of talking to her. The younger one isn't so bad though, she's a smart kid. But with that family she'll probably be ruined as well. But Chase, we still have a score to settle between us."

[Cres]

[[OMG I keep forgetting about this! >.<]]

Bells could tell there was certainly some serious history there. She eyed Chase and his sisters while listening to Lightning talk. The group didn't really appear anyhow especially annoying to her, but hearing where they came from, eh, politically, so to speak, turned her quickly against them. If Toffee had already ganged up with Lightning and his group, then that was the side she was going to be on. She mused to herself that this Lightning fellow could indeed turn out useful. She ought not let him loose.

At least not before she had a firm grasp of Toffee again.

"I hate them already," she said with a pleasant voice, a mean sparkle in her eyes. She looked at Lightning again and the smile on her face was sweet, yet... beneath, there was pure venom. "We must see what we can do about that score, shan't we?"

She decided she might as well show openly that she was not intending to shy from intrigue.

[Kat]

Lightning looked back at Bells, a smile on his face as she spoke. This one seemed like the type who enjoyed getting right into things and helping to cause some havoc. He couldn't wait to introduce her to Jasmine, he was certain they'd get along wonderfully. "I'm happy to hear that, Bells. I'm certain between the group of us, we can get some payback on the whole lot of them." Just then the waiter re-appeared, brandishing menus and bidding them to follow him to a table on the other side of the restaurant. Lightning took Bells' arm lightly, glancing back at Chase one final time before heading for the table. The two boys locked eyes, but Lightning broke the gaze in order to return his attention to Bells.



*So do you want to play out anymore here, or should we start thinking of our meeting between Lightning, Jas, and Toffee?*

[Cres]

[[Oh yeah, no, we can leave it at this here. I'm looking forward to playing Toffee again, as mentioned. ^-^ I'll just write this one last post.]]

Bells smiled, quite pleased that Lightning was taking her into the group so easily. This would be good indeed. Though had she known what Lightning was thinking she might have told him to stop dreaming - she'd never get truly along with any girl that had snatched Toffee away from her. However, she would always make pretend. Open war against this Jasmine would not help in getting Toffee back - it would only push him farther. As she walked past Chase and his sisters, she threw them a look that completely dismissed them, before turning her attention back to Lightning. She had chosen her side - there was no need to bed a place for herself on the other team.