Description: Exploring and shopping, trying to learn the city in which she's just transferred to, Alexis LaCoeur gets turned around and subsequently lost. After placing a call to her friend for directions and getting no response, does she /really/ think it's safe to strike up a conversation with a stranger? Only time will tell...
Stars twinkle brightly in the dark night sky, the moon having all but disappeared. A crisp chill is in the air this evening, caused by winds from the north which are sweeping through the area. The boardwalk is quite quiet tonight, most people preferring to stay indoors in this kind of weather.
Alexis LaCoeur, newcomer to Southtown has found herself to be completely turned around and lost. The young gymnast was directed here by a few classmates as one of the places she should acquaint herself with before returning to the dormitory. Having stopped at a few shops along the way, she carries bags of purchases with her which she seems to be fumbling with as she reaches into a small white purse for something.
Drake is just.. out an about. He's considering hitting Metro City to try and do what he can about, one: Mignon, and two: the gangs circulating there. He caught the news. It's really no good, and even if he -did- almost get killed twice, it's his duty to go back and keep trying until he succeeds. Health be damned. He's a skilled fighter, he needs to put it to use.
Of course, the boardwalk this late isn't terribly packed. So the platinum-haired girl is spotted easily, what with her hair sort've shimmering in the starlight. He pauses where he is, just staring at her for a moment... before finally tearing his eyes away and resuming his march onwards.
Fumble, fumble, fumble.
Alexis manages finally to dig her tiny little pink cell phone out of her purse, only to drop about half her purchases all over the boardwalk in front of her. "Mon dieu!," she exclaims quite loudly before dropping to her knees to begin gathering things. Her phone hasn't gone forgotten though and as she scrambles to place items back into the right bags, she leans it between ear and shoulder. "C'mon, Vanka! Pick up, please?" If the exclamation doesn't give it away, these words will. The platinum blonde girl is speaking with a very refined French accent, though obviously it's not Parisian in nature.
When no one picks up on the other end of the phone, she drops it on the boardwalk in favor of reaching for a magazine that slipped out of the smallest bag. Gazing at the ad, she giggles a little and then glances up as she hears footsteps on the boardwalk.
"A'lo," she calls out, trying to make out the shape of the person in the darkness. Male, obviously, but she can't tell much more than that at this point.
Drake continues along the boardwalk, rather.. surprised by the sudden French. And how the heck is he supposed to know it's not Parisian? He doesn't speak french! He can't tell these things! He only knows when something -sounds- French. So he just moseys along, watching the girl curiously as he does so. "'Lo," he replies, friendly as ever.. and he glances to the magazine briefly as he starts to pass by her. Curious girl, she seems to be.
Suddenly pausing in everything she's doing, the gymnast's jaw just falls open. Gaze drifting to the magazine and back to the man that's passing, she shrieks with girlish delight. "Y-you are him! You're..."
It takes all of a second for her to lift herself back to her feet and chase after him. "Him!" Pointing at the magazine, she taps her finger on the cover and then quickly flips it open to page thirty-six. There, taking up the entire page, is an image of Drake modeling some article of clothing. Alexis stares at him, peridot eyes widening and her smile broadening. "Drake Vyril! That's you, isn't it? You're like... wow! All the girls back in Russia just love you!" At least all the girls at her old school. Vanka is going to /die/ when she finds out what she missed by not coming on this excursion!
The shriek gets Drake to halt his progression to whirl around and face the girl. It's right on the tip of his tongue to ask her what's wrong, when she accuses him of being... him. Amethyst eyes turn to the picture, then back to the girl, and he smiles ruefully. "Ohhh..," he drawls slowly, coolly. "Yeah. It's me." He looks to the picture and his smile turns a bit more vaine, a bit more narcissistic.
But then he looks back to the girl. "All the girls in Russia might, but does the one that matters?," Drake asks her, lifting his right hand to touch a fingertip just beneath her chin.
Another smaller squeak is elicited as he confirms that he is in fact /him/. Alexis is about to ask him to autograph the magazine for her since she's just /positive/ none of the girls back at the dorm will believe her, when he goes and touches her. Already wide eyes widen all the more and she just stares at him, stammering for a moment. "I-I... y-you..." Reaching a hand out toward him, she yanks it back just shy of touching him.
When she finally finds her voice, she cheerfully questions, "Is that a philosophical question, or are you asking if I like you?" Maybe that will make her sound ditzy, but she does add, "'cuz if it's the latter I totally do! I heard you were a fighter too, but I haven't had much chance to review videos since coming here..."
"Of course I'm asking about you. I -did- say the one that matters, didn't I?," Drake coos coyly to the obvious fangirl. "And that totally makes meeting your worth it. As you already know, my name's Drake.." And the hand that previously touched her chin with a fingertip is offered to her, palm upwards. "But I don't quite know your name yet. Or should I just refer to you as 'Angel'?" The name seems fitting. She has such fair, soft features, a fair complexion, light hair.. very luminescent beauty, she is.
"Ohhh..." Alexis is very aware that he's /flirting/ with her, and she can just imagine how pink her cheeks are becoming. The moonless night will hopefully mask that, but it won't mask the giggle that bubbles up as she places her hand in his. "I like that! You can really call me anything you want to," she teases in a playful manner, "but if you want my name, it's Alexis." As it's rolling off her tongue, the name comes out slightly more French than she normally says it, making it Ah-Lex-ee.
"Would it be terribly fangirlish of me to ask you to sign my magazine? I've never met a /model/ like you!" She's still in a bit of disbelief that she ran into someone like him.
Drake adjusts his hand beneath hers, rolling it over to settle his thumb along the backs of her fingers to taper them downwards. He then lifts her hand to press a soft, gentle kiss upon its back, if permitted. Though once that's done, he releases it. "A pleasure, I'm sure. And you have a gorgeous name, Alexi'". He pauses a moment to pat along his pockets. ...But a frown then comes to his features. "Ehh.. no pen. I'd love to, otherwise. Got one on you?"
Peridot eyes twinkle with stars in them at gentle kiss to her hand and the compliment. Dazed by everything that's transpired so far, the gymnast just stares back at him, unmoving even as he releases her hand. Realizing he's asked her a question, Alexis gives her head a small shake to clear it of the daydreamy thought she was losing herself in and holds up a slenderly delicate finger. "One moment!"
Dashing back toward her pile of clutter, she quickly shoves it all into the bags and carries them with her toward the model. Gently dropping them on the planks of the boardwalk, she moves right up beside him and whips a glittery silver pen from her purse. "Will this do?"
Drake just stands there watching her as she wander away, head a-tilt. She's... well, she's just as cute as a button, isn't she? Totally adorable. And those eyes are something else...
And now the girl is right by him again, almost suddenly enough to startle him. He takes the pen from her neatly and gives a curt nod before grabbing for the magazine. Once in hand, he signs it in flowy, elegant script, labeling it "to his dedicated angel".
As he offers it and the pen back to her, Drake tilts his head a little. "So you've not seen me do anything else? No professional wrestling? No street fighting?"
Fanning herself as she reads the inscription over his arm, Alexis nips her teeth onto her lower lip and tries not to swoon with giddiness. Vanka is /so/ going to die over this! "Oh... oh wow! That's just... it's great! Thank you!" Flinging her arms out to give him an impromptu hug, she takes the pen back and drops it into her purse.
"Mm... uh uh. We weren't really allowed to watch too much television, and well, I spend all my spare time training. Vanka, that's my best friend, tried to show me some videos before but we didn't really have time before she moved here. I'll get her to load them up on her computer when I get back to the dorm!" Pausing to take a deep breath, Alexis continues in an animated manner. "I bet you're just as good of a fighter as you are a model!"
Drake finds himself suddenly grabbed in a hug by the girl. Surprise, surprise, he actually feels that she has muscles. He at first doesn't know what to think of this... but given a few moments, the leotard hits his mind. Of course she'd have muscle! So with that bit of confusion pushed away, he just grins at her. "You definitely should. And you'd better believe I am. If not somehow even -better-." He winks one of those dark purple eyes at her. "Promise you'll check me out?"
"'cuz I haven't been already?," Alexis teases with a tiny little wink. Her brazenness doesn't even carry a blush with it this time, and though the words were meant to tease, they seem very sincere. "I definitely will though! You do wrestling, right? Not like that silly schoolyard stuff either. Real, professional wrestling?" Genuine interest there as well.
Drake starts to protest her description of his wrestling when-
Oh, snap
-she was describing the -other- style of wrestling! She considers his real and such! This receives very obvious approval from the dark-haired model, beaming a bright smile at her. "Got that right. Domino's the name everyone knows me by. You sound like you -used- to watch wrestling, before you couldn't get at much t.v..." Her compliment? It didn't go unnoticed. He's just picking and choosing his moments to come back at her.
"Whenever my brother and I came here to visit our parents, I would sneak into the suite and watch as much as I could before training," Alexis admits with a sheepish grin. "I hate missing training though, so as soon as it was time the television would go off and I'd get to work." Giving him a demure smile as she gazes over at him, she quietly adds, "I bet you know what that's like though, you being a professional and all."
She's going to harass Vanka so badly back at the dorm the other girl will likely fuss at her and tell her to go to sleep, but Lexi can't help it. She's really curious to see the style he uses and to see what he can do during a match.
Drake nods slowly at her, sagely. "Yeah, training's the most important thing to do. It's good that you're disciplined enough to keep your regime." He offers a coy smile, however. "And I could kind'a feel that your training is definitely working you out well. You felt all muscly when you grabbed me a second ago." Pause. "Gotta like a girl with some build to'er."
At that, Alexis does blush. The color brightens her cheeks before she dips her head down and toes at the boardwalk. "Discipline is the key to success," she states, as though having heard it a million times before. "I... well... I'm a gymnast. You tend to build up a good musculature when you're working out between four to six hours a day." You often times tend to have no life with a schedule like that, but considering how /cheerful/ she is, it doesn't seem as if that bothers her.
Drake blinks at her. "..You work out that much? Wow. Now -that's- discipline. I thought my workout schedule was hard..." Then again, he probably trains -harder- than her, whereas she trains longer. His hands set to his hips, and he grins a little at her. "So, what all have you done with the gymnastics? You touring the area?"
"I've entered a few competitions. My coach keeps telling me that if I do well in a few of the more important ones coming up, I may have a chance at the Olympic team." Alexis beams at that, giving her tooth pingingest smile. She's veritably preening for the model now, very proud of her abilities.
"Actually, I'm not touring. I just transferred to Pacific High. I was attending the school in Russia, and training with one of the best gymnastics schools in the country there." Again, she grins sheepishly and shakes her head. "Vanka transferred here though, and so I followed. Only," she clears her throat, "I got turned around while shopping and I can't exactly remember which direction the school is in. I've only been here a day."
Drake nods once. "So you're new to Southtown. Uhm... keep away from Gedo Street, kay?" But then she goes on to explain how she's apparently lost, and Drake laughs softly. It's a sympathetic, lighthearted laughter, though. "I can help you get back, I think. I've never been to any of the schools, to be honest, though..."
"Well," Alexis says thoughtfully after a moment, "I can't think of anyone better to be lost with. 'sides, I kind've don't really want to walk the streets of a strange place alone." Who knows if she'd be randomly accosted, beaten up or worse. Shivering just thinking about it, she reaches down to try and grab all of her bags. "Do you think..." Nah. She was going to ask him about getting pointers on the new fighting regimen, but that should probably wait. "I could see you fight sometime? In person I mean..."
Drake turns aside and offers his arm to the girl in a crook. "Settled, then. I was heading this'a way anyhow, and I figure what better way to spend an evening than along with a pretty fan?" Her questions gets a curious look from him, though. "Whaddaya mean? Like.. free tickets to a show, or..?"
Taking his arm, Alexis juggles the bags around so she can manage them all. "What? No! I mean, well, if I gave you my number could you like, call and let me know when your next match is? I can afford to get tickets and stuff, I just don't know the venues around here and I've never seen a live match, except at school." Beaming him a dazzling smile, the gymnast waits to start her trek with him, anxious to get back to the dorm so she can look up his fights online.
Drake begins walking along with her, leading her over the boardwalks. "Oh.. uh-huh.." He lulls his head over to the side to give her a demure, playful look across his shoulder. "You're just wanting me to call you, aren't you? It's okay to admit it..." His free hand gives her arm a gentle little pat, as if to make her feel more comfortable in confiding with him. "What kind'a match are you wanting to see? Me in wrestling, or me in street fighting?"
Alexis admits to no such thing, but she does give him a look that might as well have been her saying 'well /duh/' and smiles. "Hey, it's up to you, in the end. I just really wanna see you fight!" The gymnast reaches down into her purse for that glittery silver pen again, and pulls it out as she gives a noncommittal shrug. "Wrestling, I guess. I wouldn't want to distract you or anything if you're fighting in a more intense situation."
"Oh, it would be hard to not be distracted by the likes of you at one of my matches," Drake trails. He then pauses in his walking, though, and turns to face her. This requires his arm withdraws, but still. "Gimme the number anyway. I'll let you know what's coming up. I think I could afford a -little- distraction...," he trails with a grin.
Seemingly unperturbed as the walk stops and the arm withdraws, Alexis gives him a bright and cheerful, "Kay!" Pulling the cap off of the pen with her teeth, she reaches for his right hand and before he can protest, scrawls her name and number on the back of it. Above that, she writes, "Call Me!" and circles the whole thing with a cutesy little heart. "I promise I'll try not to distract you /too/ much. I know what it's like to have a big crowd of people watching you and wanting to concentrate on what you're doing."
Drake starts to protest, but... what the heck. She's cute, she's spunky, why not let her doodle a little? What's it gonna hurt? When she's done, he lifts the hand to look at it, then looks back at her. "And when I win, I'll be sure to point you out in the audience and wave." And the hand lowers with that, pleasant little smile gracing his features.
"You'd /really/ do that?" Pause. "That's so /cool/!" Alexis couldn't be happier, really, for a girl who's completely managed to lose her way. "Thanks, Drake! I can't wait to tell Vanka and make her uber jealous!" Grinning, she thinks about it for a second and adds, "I'll make a poster, and /when/ you win I'll hold it up really high!"
"Kay," Drake says, smile spreading. Oh, how he misses those posters. The things fans would make and wave around during matches at his fed'. And he was featured on quite a few of them! Some marriage proposals, some sappy flirty ones, some that wanted him to hop over a cliff for stealing some guy's girlfriend. Ah, good times.
Before Alexis can say anything else, her cell phone rings. Digging into her purse, she opens it up and giggles. "Sec," she says to Drake as she answers the phone. "Vanka, I'm like so totally lost it's not funny. I found this really great guy that's going to walk me back to the dorm though." Pausing to allow whoever it is on the other end to talk, she grins. "Oh! Can you do me a favor? Find me /all/ the Domino fights you can." Pause. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Please? Just do it for me? I want to see /all/ of them. Thanks!" Snapping the phone shut, she proceeds to walk along in the direction Drake was leading them and when they eventually get within visual range of the school, the gymnast turns and brings her palm up to her lips kissing it and then blowing a little puff of air at him before she runs off toward the dorms.
Log created on 23:48:17 11/08/2007 by Alexis, and last modified on 11:04:28 11/10/2007.