"Ummm..." Her stomach growled. "Yes but I should go buy some lunch." She said not moving. She didn't want to reveal her blushing face.

"Sure" he smiled and stepped back to let her pass, "My treat"

Slowly she got up, "So... ummm.... did you just move into town?" Yes. Small talk. Something normal. She asked not looking directly at him.

"Yeah, just last week" he replied, "monday was my first day. I haven't really met a lot of people yet, it's not easy for me either" he rubbed the back of his neck.

She smiled a little, "Not a soical go getter? Well, you've made one friend... As long as you don't freak me out like you did the other day after school.."

"My bad" he admitted. "I was trying to be charming. I guess I kinda failed at it"

"It was kinda like a scene out of a romance novel." She commented, rubbing her arm. "I'm just... not the type of person who responses very well to that sort of thing." She said, continuing to avoid eye contact.

"Fair enough" he nodded. Note to self, no more romance novels... damn. What did he have to go on then? "... so... what do you like?" he asked

"Huh, well that's a loaded question isn't it?...Ummm... Reading, Swimming, Skiing, Surfing..." She said starting to list things she liked.

He listened, he seemed very attentive.

"So um... what are you into?" She asked, as they got some food from the cafe. She'd basically said she enjoyed water/winter sports and science type things.

"Much of the same actually" he replied, "I love to read, I think that knowledge above all else is a better tool, strength, even weapon if need be. And not just facts either, but people. If you can know all there is to know about a person or species, you can change and shape their whole existence. It's both a science and an art"

Ciara actually smiled widely. "I know right? When I grow up, I want to be a scientist just like my Dad. There are still so many things we don't understand about the world. New species and plants are discovered everyday. It's a treasure trove of knowledge out there. The Coga for expample. There's miles of unexplored rain forests there. But the goverement there doesn't let just anyone in there. You have to have a lot of money to persude people to let you do things down there. But Who knows what could be out there! " She paused, and blushed having gotten rather passionate about the subject.

Luke listened in agreement, though one thing caught his attention, "Who's your father?"

"Hank McCoy... Adopted father actually... I don't remember my real parents." She got rather quiet, picking at her veggies and dip.

"Oh... I'm sorry" he replied, "... do you know what happened to them?"

"Can, Can we talk about something else, please?" The subject wasn't an easy one to talk about.

"Um... okay" he thought a moment, "err... do you have any siblings?" he asked.

"Kinda. We're not blood related." she rubbed the back of her head, "But we're family."

((*facepalm* wow XD))

"oh... adopted?" he asked.

Ciara was about to answer but the bell rang. "That's the bell." She got up, "This... this was nice." She smiled shyly. "Wanna hang out tomorrow at lunch?" She asked, playing with a strand of hair.

"I would love that" Luke nodded with a charming smile.

Ciara's eyes widened at the word love. Her cheeks instantly flushed as she retreated out of the cafe.

Luke's smile vanished the moment she fled. This was tedious, and something seemed a little off about her but he couldn't quite place it. He wanted to get her alone again, but apparently that wasn't going to be easy.

Posters were all over the walls, the masquerade themed dance was this Friday night. It seemed every student was talking about it.

After school, Ciara sat on the steps and sighed. It seemed Julia had been asked out for the dance so she was no longer interested in going singles with her and matching their outfits.

She stared at her half completed mask. The student counsil have given everyone a basic white mask as part of the entry fee to enter the dance. There was a contest for the best partners at the dance. She'd worked so hard on it and now...